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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. 1100

Escalier de 63

State/Variant:
Only state
Date:
1939
Descriptive Title:
English translation: "Stairs of 63"
Themes:
Architecture, Figures
Techniques:
Lithography
Description:
Lithograph
Support:
Paper
Dimensions:
plate: 14 1/16 × 10 1/8" (35.7 × 25.7 cm); sheet: 19 1/16 × 12 13/16" (48.4 × 32.5 cm)
Signature:
Not signed
Inscription:
"Proof" lower left margin, pencil, unknown hand; "L. Bourgeois" pencil, lower right margin, unknown hand.
Publisher:
unpublished
Printer:
The Art Students League of New York
Edition:
2 known impressions of the only state
Impression:
Not numbered
Edition Information:
Not issued as a published edition.

The second known impression of the only state is known only through photocopies held at the Archives of American Art. The lower left margin of this second impression is inscribed "escalier de 63 -- to Babette / Tout le monde voit quelle est belle," It is signed, numbered "1/4," and dated 1939.
Background:
The title of this composition references the stairs at 63 Park Avenue. Louise Bourgeois lived at that address with her husband, Robert Goldwater, from the time of the artist's arrival in New York on October 12, 1938 until September 1939.

American painter and printmaker, Will Barnet (1911-2012) was the master printer at The Art Students League and printed Bourgeois's lithographs.

The inscription on the other known impression of this composition (known only through a photocopy) references Babette Deutsch (1895–1982). Deutsch was a poet, novelist, and critic, and taught at Columbia University.
Curatorial Remarks:
The inscription "L. Bourgeois" may have been added by printer Will Barnet to keep track of impressions he printed at the Art Students League. This impression was in the collection of Will Barnet.

In Wye and Smith, "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois," 1994, p. 136, this composition was titled "Babette." At the time, it was known only through Bourgeois's print list.

The verso of this impression contains a lithograph with no signature by an unknown artist.
Former Cat. No.:
W&S A9

Escalier de 63
1939

States

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Escalier de 63. 1939
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Only state
1939