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LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Louise Bourgeois: Complete Books & Prints
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NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION

Cat. No. 426/III, variant 3

Pierre

State/Variant:
State III of VI, variant
Date:
1939
Alternate Title:
Birthday
Themes:
Figures, Motherhood & Family, Objects
Techniques:
Drypoint, Etching, Other
Description:
Soft ground etching, drypoint, and monotype
Support:
Paper
Dimensions:
plate: 9 15/16 × 6 15/16" (25.2 × 17.7 cm); sheet: 11 5/8 × 8 7/8" (29.5 × 22.5 cm)
Signature:
"L. Bourgeois" lower right margin, pencil, artist's hand.
Inscription:
"Birthday" lower left margin, pencil, artist's hand.
Publisher:
unpublished
Printer:
The artist
Edition:
3 known variant impressions of state III
Impression:
"4/10" lower left margin, pencil, artist's hand.
Edition Information:
Not issued as a published edition at any state.

Although this composition was not published at any state, two impressions are numbered 4/10, and one is numbered 5/10.
State Changes and Additions:
Changes from state II, in drypoint: left figure’s upper arm and shoulder further delineated; hatch marks added to right figure’s breast; fringe added to right figure’s sleeve.
Changes from state II, in monotype: texture added to basket.
Background:
Bourgeois had two siblings: Pierre, her younger brother, and Henriette, her older sister.
Artist’s Remarks:
"This is Pierre, my brother. He was always on my side. Here, I am a beautiful girl... look at the hair... but I have to be constantly told by my closest friend, my brother. That is the function of my brother... he has this role and he loves it... he is an unpaid and constant admirer. But this was not a luxury for me... this was a necessity. It is the role played today by John, the homeless man on my block," Bourgeois said in 1994. "He brings little presents to please me. I don't fall for it, but it is still nice. Here, Pierre brings me something to please me and I love it... it makes me feel good. Louise can do anything... I need my friends close by, saying, 'You can do no wrong.'" (Quote cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 54.)
Curatorial Remarks:
The paper type could not be documented because this work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The plate dimensions are from an impression of state III in MoMA's Collection.

Pierre
1939

States

Louise Bourgeois. Pierre. 1939
State I of VI
1939
Louise Bourgeois. Pierre. 1939
State II of VI
1939
Louise Bourgeois. Pierre. 1939
State III of VI, variant
1939
Louise Bourgeois. Pierre. 1939
State III of VI, variant
1939
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Pierre. 1939
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION State III of VI, variant
1939
Louise Bourgeois. Pierre. 1939
State IV of VI
1939
Louise Bourgeois. Pierre. 1939
State V of VI
1939
Louise Bourgeois. Pierre. 1939
State VI of VI
1939