Louise Bourgeois. Untitled (1997-2000)

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Cat. No. 843/I, variant 2

Untitled

State/Variant:: State I of VIII, variant
Date:: 1997-2000

Descriptive Title:: Rivers of France; Map of France
Themes:: Nature
Techniques:: Drypoint
Description:: Drypoint, with pencil additions
Support:: Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:: plate: 9 3/8 × 7 7/16" (23.8 × 18.9 cm); sheet: 9 13/16 x 6 11/16" (25 x 17 cm) (dimensions reflect full plate size; this is a partial print)
Signature:: Not signed
Inscription:: Verso: "copy given to Becky Brown Wye / for her birthday (after her trip [sic] / to France (1997)" upper center sheet, blue ink, artist's hand.
Publisher:: unpublished
Printer:: Harlan & Weaver, New York
Edition:: 2 known variant impressions of state I
Impression:: Not numbered
Edition Information:: Not issued as a published edition at any state.
Background:: Proximity to rivers was of importance to the Bourgeois family's tapestry restoration business. This connection to rivers remained with the artist long after her childhood and inspired a number of projects, including "Water Divide," "Ode à la Bièvre," and "Point d'ironie," seen in Related Works in the Catalogue below.

Bourgeois began this untitled composition of French waterways in 1997. She continued to work on this composition into the 2000s, incorporating changes to the composition after making a source drawing on a photocopied map of France.
Curatorial Remarks:: An additional known impression of this composition was not available for reproduction. From a poor quality image of the print, it has been determined that it may be an impression of an additional state that comes between states II and III, as illustrated in the Evolving Composition Diagram below. The print in question appears to have been burnished in the upper left composition, and not yet further developed in the lower left. This was determined without the benefit of being able to examine the print in person. It is inscribed by the artist "1997 / L'année du voyage / en France / Le 5 mai Becky a 14 ans / Bon Anniversaire" in the lower composition, and signed "LB" in the lower right composition. This impression was gifted to the daughter of a close friend on the occasion of her first visit to France.
Other Remarks:: According to Felix Harlan, of Harlan & Weaver, New York, Bourgeois's map compositions stem from her desire to sort through memories and associations with different places. The artist used preexisting maps as references for her own abstracted compositions, excluding the information essential to map reading. In this way, the maps served more as personal documents for the artist, rather than as references or guides.
MoMA Credit Line:: Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:: 739.2008