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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. 739

Sheaves

State/Variant:
Only state
Date:
2006
Alternate Title:
The Smell of Eucalyptus, plate A
Themes:
Abstraction, Nature
Techniques:
Etching
Description:
Soft ground etching, with blue and white gouache and red pencil additions
Support:
Paper
Dimensions:
plate: 55 11/16 × 13 13/16" (141.5 × 35.1 cm); sheet: 58 7/8 × 19 1/2" (149.5 × 49.5 cm)
Signature:
"Louise / Bourgeois" left lower comp., pencil; "Louise Bourgeois" lower right comp., pencil.
Publisher:
Osiris, New York
Printer:
Wingate Studio, Hinsdale, NH
Edition:
9; plus 1 study
Impression:
"Study no. 1" verso.
Edition Information:
The works in the Evolving Composition Diagram below involve two tall vertical plates, A and B. The plates were printed individually, and side by side in different layouts. The plates printed singly are organized in rows according to which plate is used. The impressions with both plates are organized into 2 versions according to the layout of the plates.

In the first version, the layout shows the leaves pointing out toward the edges of the sheet. In the second version, the layout shows the leaves pointing in toward the center of the sheet. The third version is a multi-panel work with an impression of the first version alongside impressions of plates A and B.

These varying works were issued in 3 separate editions and as unique variants, all listed below and seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram. (For the unique variants, the artist sometimes changed the orientation of the sheet from that seen in the editions.)

Editions:
Plates A and B: "Sheaves"
First Version: "The Smell of Eucalyptus (#1)"
Second Version: "The Smell of Eucalyptus (#2)"

Unique Variants:
Plate A: "Differentiate" illustrated book cover
Plate A: Untitled, plate 1 of 9, from the illustrated book, "Differentiate"
Plate B: Untitled, plate 7 of 9, from the illustrated book, "Differentiate"
First version: "Ode to Eugénie Grandet"
First version: "The Sense of Something Missing"
First version: "When I Was Young"
Second version: "A Mirror of Me!!!"
Second version: "Do Not Cut Me Down!"
Third version: Untitled, no. 4 of 5, from the series, "The Vocabulary of Seduction"

The plates were also printed in combination with other plates in multi-panel works. They all include extensive hand additions, and sometimes only minor areas of the plates were inked. These works can be seen below in Related Works in the Catalogue:

"The Geometry of Pleasure (#3)"
"The Geometry of Pleasure (#4)"
"The Geometry of Pleasure (#5)"
“The Geometry of Desire (#1)”

About the "Sheaves" edition:
Within the edition, 9 impressions are printed from plate B. There is also 1 study printed from plate A. The Louise Bourgeois Studio groups the 9 impressions and the study within one edition even though 2 different plates were used.

Bourgeois and the publisher designated the impression with hand additions as a study. However, throughout the catalogue, the term "study" describes photocopies and tracings that were used in the process of developing a composition.
Background:
Benjamin Shiff, the director of the Osiris imprint, collaborated with Bourgeois in a highly experimental phase of printmaking that occupied the last years of her life, from 2005 to 2010. He first established a working relationship with the artist in the 1990s, but the late period is particularly noteworthy for the innovative and complex large-scale projects that evolved at that time. Shiff made use of professional workshops for printing, but he oversaw the creation of the printing plates as Bourgeois worked on them in her home studio. He also provided assistance as she added extensive hand additions and texts, and as she combined individual compositions into multi-panel works and illustrated books.
Curatorial Remarks:
The paper type, and the location and medium of the impression number are not documented because this work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The plate dimensions are from the impression of plate A in MoMA's Collection. The sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.

The Smell of Eucalyptus
2006-2008

Plate A

Louise Bourgeois. Untitled. 2006
Untitled
Only state
2006
Published NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Sheaves. 2006
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Sheaves
Only state
2006
Published NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Differentiate, cover. 2007
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Differentiate, cover
Only state, unique variant
2007
Published NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 1 of 9, from the illustrated book, Differentiate. 2007
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Untitled, plate 1 of 9, from the illustrated book, Differentiate
Only state, unique variant
2007

Plate B

Louise Bourgeois. Untitled. 2006
Untitled
Only state
2006
Published NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Sheaves. 2006
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Sheaves
Only state
2006
Published NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 7 of 9, from the illustrated book, Differentiate. 2007
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Untitled, plate 7 of 9, from the illustrated book, Differentiate
Only state, unique variant
2007

First Version

Louise Bourgeois. The Smell of Eucalyptus (#1). 2006
The Smell of Eucalyptus (#1)
Only state
2006
Published Louise Bourgeois. The Smell of Eucalyptus (#1). 2006
The Smell of Eucalyptus (#1)
Only state
2006
Published Louise Bourgeois. Ode to Eugénie Grandet. 2007
Ode to Eugénie Grandet
Only state, unique variant
2007
Published NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. The Sense of Something Missing. 2008
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION The Sense of Something Missing
Only state, unique variant
2008
Published NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. When I Was Young. 2008
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION When I Was Young
Only state, unique variant
2008

Second Version

Published Louise Bourgeois. The Smell of Eucalyptus (#2). 2006
The Smell of Eucalyptus (#2)
Only state
2006
Published NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. A Mirror of Me!!! 2007
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION A Mirror of Me!!!
Only state, unique variant
2007
Published NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Do Not Cut Me Down! 2008
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Do Not Cut Me Down!
Only state, unique variant
2008

Third Version

Published NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, no. 4 of 5, from the series, The Vocabulary of Seduction. 2007
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Untitled, no. 4 of 5, from the series, The Vocabulary of Seduction
Version 3 of 3, only state, unique variant
2007

Illustrated Book
2007

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Differentiate. 2007
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Differentiate
2007
More About This Work

Series
2007

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. The Vocabulary of Seduction. 2007
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION The Vocabulary of Seduction
2007
More About This Work