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LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Louise Bourgeois: Complete Books & Prints
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Cat. No. 224.2/IV, variant

Eight in Bed

State/Variant:
Version 2 of 3, state IV of X, variant
Date:
1998
Themes:
Architecture, Figures, Objects
Techniques:
Drypoint, Engraving, Etching
Description:
Etching, engraving, and drypoint, with red and blue watercolor, pencil, red crayon, and red, blue, and black ink additions
Support:
Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:
plate: 11 7/8 x 16 3/4" (30.2 x 42.6 cm); sheet: 13 7/8 x 19" (35.3 x 48.3 cm)
Signature:
Not signed
Publisher:
unpublished
Printer:
Harlan & Weaver, New York
Edition:
2 known variant impressions of version 2, state IV
Impression:
Not numbered
Edition Information:
Proof before the editioning of version 3.
State Changes and Additions:
Matrices:
The progression of version 2 of this composition, as seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below, involved 2 plates.
Plate 1: linear elements of composition; printed in black or red.
Plate 2: overall shading of background; printed in blue.

Print State Changes:
Plate 1 printed in red.
Changes from version 1, in etching and engraving: composition transferred to a new plate; figures refined overall.
Changes from version 2, state III, by burnishing: figures’ feet and several areas of shading removed.
Changes from version 2, state III, in drypoint: horizontal line added at the foot of the bed; figures’ feet reconfigured; shading and further detail added to several figures.
Background:
"Eight in Bed" developed out of another composition with seven figures in a bed. That imagery dealt with a childhood memory of times when the artist and her two siblings, along with two cousins who lived with them, would join her parents in bed. According to Bourgeois's assistant, Jerry Gorovoy, there was no specific symbolic meaning to the addition of thie eighth (and in some studies, ninth) figure; it was simply part of her further experimentation with the composition.
Curatorial Remarks:
The photocopy studies for this composition indicate that it derived from the Untitled composition, plate 5, from the illustrated book "Metamorfosis" (seen below in Related Works in the Catalogue). The two compositions could have been catalogued as Versions in one Evolving Composition Diagram. They were catalogued separately because Untitled, plate 5, is from an illustrated book, making it difficult to present the two compositions as one.
Other Remarks:
According to the artist's assistant, Jerry Gorovoy, the subject of beds stems not only from their symbolic resonance for Bourgeois but also from her interest in their geometric and architectural forms. The bed motif is found in Bourgeois's drawings, sculptures, and installations, as well as in her prints (see Related Works in Other Mediums).
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
760.2008
This Work in Other Collections:
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Cambridge, MA

Eight in Bed
1998-2000

Studies

Louise Bourgeois. Untitled (Study for Eight in Bed). 1998
Study
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled (Study for Eight in Bed). 1998
Study
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled (Study for Eight in Bed). 1998
Study
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled (Study for Eight in Bed). 1998
Study
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled (Study for Eight in Bed). 1998
Study
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled (Study for Eight in Bed). 1998
Study
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled (Study for Eight in Bed). 1998
Study
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled (Study for Eight in Bed). 1998
Study
1998

First Version

Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 1 of 3, state I of VI
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 1 of 3, state II of VI, variant
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 1 of 3, state II of VI, variant
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 1 of 3, state III of VI
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 1 of 3, state IV of VI
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 1 of 3, state V of VI
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 1 of 3, state V of VI, variant
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 1 of 3, state VI of VI
1998

Second Version

Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state I of X
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state II of X
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state III of X, variant
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state III of X, variant
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state III of X, variant
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state IV of X, variant
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state IV of X, variant
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state V of X
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state VI of X, variant
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state VI of X, variant
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state VII of X
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state VIII of X
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state VIII of X, variant
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state VIII of X, variant
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state VIII of X, variant
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2, state VIII of X, variant
1998
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Version 2 of 3, state VIII of X, variant
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state IX of X
1998
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 1998
Version 2 of 3, state X of X
1998

Third Version

Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 2000
Version 3 of 3, only state, variant
2000
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 2000
Version 3 of 3, only state, variant
2000
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 2000
Version 3 of 3, only state, variant
2000
Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 2000
Version 3 of 3, only state, variant
2000
Published Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed. 2000
Version 3 of 3, only state
2000