Cat. No. 1212.1/I, variant 4
Hold My Bones
- State/Variant:
- Version 1 of 2, state I of III, variant
- Date:
- 2000
- Themes:
- Body Parts
- Techniques:
- Drypoint
- Description:
- Drypoint, with selective wiping, and red ink additions
- Support:
- Smooth, wove paper
- Dimensions:
- plate: 4 15/16 × 8 3/8" (12.5 × 21.3 cm); sheet: 6 7/8 × 9 13/16" (17.5 × 25 cm)
- Signature:
- "LB" lower right margin, red ink.
- Inscription:
- "HC" lower left margin, red ink, artist's hand.
- Publisher:
- unpublished
- Printer:
- Harlan & Weaver, New York
- Edition:
- 7 known variant impressions of version 1, state I
- Impression:
- Not numbered
- Edition Information:
- Not issued as a published edition at any state.
The "HC" inscription, in the artist's hand, does not indicate a conventional H.C. impression, which would be included in an edition. - Artist’s Remarks:
- Inscribed on the source drawing: "Treaser Trove" (sic) upper right sheet, black ink, artist's hand; "I hold [obscured]" lower right sheet, pencil, artist's hand; "Hold my bones / together" lower right sheet, pencil, artist's hand.
About the source drawing, 1994: "This is my favorite drawing of all. It is a call for help. It means, 'Keep me together, do not abandon me, hold my bones together.' Speaking of the toi and moi! It should be called 'Friendship, The Value of Friendship.' I made this for Nigel Finch, the filmmaker. He just passed away." (Quote cited in Bourgeois, Louise and Lawrence Rinder. "Louise Bourgeois Drawings and Observations." Berkeley: University Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive University of California, Berkeley; Boston: Bulfinch Press, 1995, p. 175.) - Curatorial Remarks:
- Nigel Finch (1949-1995) was a British filmmaker. In 1994, he directed a documentary about the artist titled "Louise Bourgeois: No Trespassing."
- MoMA Credit Line:
- Gift of the artist
- MoMA Accession Number:
- 845.2008
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY