LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Themes:

Figures, Objects

Techniques:

Drypoint

Description:

Drypoint

Support:

Smooth, wove Somerset paper

Dimensions:

plate: 8 11/16 x 6 11/16" (22.1 x 17 cm); sheet: 19 11/16 x 15 1/16" (50 x 38.2 cm)

Signature:

"LB" lower right margin, pencil.

Publisher:

Peter Blum Edition, New York

Printer:

Harlan & Weaver, New York

Edition:

35; plus 10 H.C.

Impression:

"III/X" lower left margin, pencil, unknown hand.

Edition Information:

There is one known impression of state II, outside the edition, in MoMA's Collection (Accession Number: 640.2008). It is not illustrated, due to its similiarity to the impression seen here.

State Changes and Additions:

Changes from state I, in drypoint: line added to right side of telephone.

Background:

Bourgeois was often inspired by the subjects of early drawings when creating works at much later dates. This 1994 portfolio is an example of a project based primarily on drawings from the 1940s and referring to her life in New York at that time. The exceptions are as follows: plate 1, based on a drawing from 1986 that references childbirth; plates 4 and 9, based on drawings from the 1940s but depicting memories of her childhood years in France; plate 11, most probably based on a drawing from the 1940s of a European hotel desk.

Artist’s Remarks:

Inscribed by the artist on the wrapper for this plate: "An idealized portrait of Robert / Robert he protects / controls all the keys / and in charge of / protecting the family / the men are / idealized / by me / + the women / are always difficult."

Installation Remarks:

The prints in this portfolio can be shown as a group or individually. There is no required sequence.

Curatorial Remarks:

Of the 14 plates in "Autobiographical Series," Bourgeois titled plates 6 and 12. The untitled plates have been assigned descriptive titles for cataloguing purposes.

Bibliography:

Malbert, Roger, and Juliet Mitchell. "Louise Bourgeois: Autobiographical Prints." London: Hayward, 2016. (Catalogue accompanying the touring exhibition "Louise Bourgeois Prints: Autobiographical Series and 11 Drypoints".)

MoMA Credit Line:

Gift of the artist

MoMA Accession Number:

74.1997.11

This Work in Other Collections:

Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland
Museu da Gravura Cidade de Curitiba, Brazil
Tate Modern, London

© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY