Cat. No. 1212.1/I, variant 6
Hold My Bones
- State/Variant:
- Version 1 of 2, state I of III, variant
- Date:
- 2000
- Themes:
- Body Parts
- Techniques:
- Drypoint, Other
- Description:
- Drypoint and monotype, with selective wiping, and red crayon, red and black ink, and red and white gouache additions
- Support:
- Smooth, wove Hahnemühle paper
- Dimensions:
- plate: 5 x 8 7/16" (12.7 x 21.5 cm); sheet: 9 1/4 x 12 11/16" (23.5 x 32.2 cm)
- Signature:
- "LB" lower right margin, red ink.
- Inscription:
- "HC" lower left margin, red ink, artist's hand. Verso: "Contradictions et exorcisms" center sheet, pencil, artist's hand; "quand les femmes sout aux [illegible]eusy / elles fout des sacs / qol les sacs sout [illegible]" lower center sheet, pencil, 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- unpublished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:
- 847.2008
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY