LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

A New York–based intaglio printshop and publisher, Harlan & Weaver was founded in 1984, bringing together the skills of Felix Harlan and Carol Weaver. The firm collaborated with Bourgeois from 1989 until the last year of her life on nearly a third of her total print output, far more than any other printer.

Felix Harlan, with his gentle manner and specialized expertise, established an intimate working relationship with Bourgeois, spending several days a week at her house and becoming thoroughly attuned to her creative process. Initially, Harlan & Weaver was recommended to Bourgeois by Judith Solodkin of SOLO Impression, when Peter Blum Edition needed an intaglio printer for the Anatomy series, published in 1990. By the mid-1990s Harlan had refurbished Bourgeois's old printing press and set it up on the lower level of her house. Although suitable only for small-scale works, the press and its proximity accelerated the rate of Bourgeois's printmaking. Harlan added a second press in 2003, and also worked on projects at his shop's presses.

Whenever new proofs were ready, Bourgeois was filled with anticipation, averting her eyes while Harlan set them up; she wanted the "shock" of the first impression. Before leaving each day, Harlan placed proofs in blotters on Bourgeois's work table so that, in the morning, they would be ready for her to begin altering with hand additions. Many of Bourgeois's most important print projects, in her favored drypoint and in other intaglio techniques, were created with Harlan & Weaver.