MoMA
A-|A+

LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Louise Bourgeois: Complete Books & Prints
Advanced Search

View Works Chronologically:

Compositions (1,574)
Sheets (5,410)



Showing 1 of 1

Cat. No. 408/III

Dancing Insect

State/Variant:
State III of III
Date:
1999
Themes:
Animals & Insects, Motherhood & Family
Techniques:
Drypoint
Description:
Drypoint
Support:
Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:
plate: 11 7/8 x 9 15/16" (30.2 x 25.2 cm); sheet: 15 1/2 x 13" (39.4 x 33 cm)
Signature:
Not signed
Publisher:
unpublished
Printer:
Harlan & Weaver, New York
Edition:
3 known impressions of state III
Impression:
Not numbered
Edition Information:
Not issued as a published edition at any state.

The third known impression of this state is not in MoMA's Collection. It is not illustrated, due to its similarity to the impression seen here.
State Changes and Additions:
Changes from state II, in drypoint: hairs added to topmost leg on right side of body; eyebrows added; lines extended across abdomen; legs reinforced.
Background:
According to the artist's assistant, Jerry Gorovoy, Bourgeois began this composition by tracing an illustration from a book in her collection. The book had once been part of the inventory of Erasmus Books and Prints, the shop she opened for a brief period in the late 1950s.
Curatorial Remarks:
Without being able to examine it in person, it appears that the study is a color photocopy of state III of III, variant. Bourgeois made the photocopy in 2003, several years after she discontinued work on the "Dancing Insect" prints.
Other Remarks:
According to Bourgeois's assistant, Jerry Gorovoy, the three eggs in the lower left composition refer to Louise's three children and the insect is a self portrait of the artist.
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
805.2008

Dancing Insect
1999-2003

States

Louise Bourgeois. Dancing Insect. 1999
State I of III
1999
Louise Bourgeois. Dancing Insect. 1999
State II of III
1999
Louise Bourgeois. Dancing Insect. 1999
State III of III
1999
Louise Bourgeois. Dancing Insect. 1999
State III of III, variant
1999

Studies

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Untitled (Study for Dancing Insect). 2003
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Study
2003