Cat. No. 499/IV
La Folie
- State/Variant:
- State IV of IV
- Date:
- 1999
- Descriptive Title:
-
English translation: "Madness"; Woman and House in Boomerang
- Themes:
- Abstraction, Architecture, Figures, Objects
- Techniques:
- Drypoint
- Description:
- Drypoint, with red ink additions
- Support:
- Smooth, wove paper
- Dimensions:
- plate: 8 7/8 x 11 7/8" (22.5 x 30.2 cm); sheet: 11 1/4 x 16 7/8" (28.6 x 42.8 cm)
- Signature:
- Not signed
- Inscription:
- Verso: [sketch of rectangle], center sheet, red ink.
- Publisher:
- unpublished
- Printer:
- Harlan & Weaver, New York
- Edition:
- 1 known impression of state IV
- Impression:
- Not numbered
- Edition Information:
- Not issued as a published edition at any state.
- State Changes and Additions:
- Changes from state III, by burnishing: figure’s contour partially removed.
Changes from state III, in drypoint: figure’s contour reconfigured and billowing smoke delineated. - Background:
- In 1941, Bourgeois and her family purchased a small country house in Easton, Connecticut, which remains in the family. The inscription on the verso of the source drawing for this composition refers to Easton as well as Michel, one of the artist's three sons.
- Artist’s Remarks:
- Inscribed on the verso of the source drawing: "La Folie / Souvenir de Michel à Easton / Do snakes have eyes and excrements / Some are nice, some are mean. Accept it. Boa Constrictor. Sept. 99"
- MoMA Credit Line:
- Gift of the artist
- MoMA Accession Number:
- 950.2008
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY