Louise Bourgeois. Eight in Bed (1998)

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Cat. No. 224.1/V, variant

Eight in Bed

State/Variant:: Version 1 of 3, state V of VI, variant
Date:: 1998

Themes:: Architecture, Figures, Objects
Techniques:: Drypoint, Engraving, Etching
Description:: Etching, engraving, and drypoint, with pencil, pink and blue colored pencil, blue crayon, and black ink additions
Support:: Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:: plate: 11 7/8 x 16 3/4" (30.2 x 42.6 cm); sheet: 17 11/16 x 21 5/16" (45 x 54.2 cm)
Signature:: Not signed
Publisher:: unpublished
Printer:: Harlan & Weaver, New York
Edition:: 2 known impressions of version 1, state V
Impression:: Not numbered
Edition Information:: Proof before the editioning of version 3.
State Changes and Additions:: Changes from version 1, state IV, in drypoint: further delineation of several figures and jewelry added.
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:: 752.2008
This Work in Other Collections:: Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Cambridge, MA