Cat. No. 432

Untitled, plate 3 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series

State/Variant:: Only state
Date:: 1994
Portfolio:: Autobiographical Series

Themes: Faces & Portaits, Figures
Techniques: Drypoint
Support:: Smooth, wove Somerset paper
Dimensions:: plate (component A): 3 7/8 x 2 7/16" (9.8 x 6.2 cm); plate (component B): 3 9/16 x 2 3/16" (9 x 5.5 cm); sheet: 19 11/16 x 15 1/16" (50 x 38.3cm)
Signature:: "LB" lower right margin of each component, pencil.
Publisher: Peter Blum Edition
Printer: Harlan & Weaver
Edition:: 35; plus 10 H.C.
Edition Information:: There is 1 known impression of the only state, outside the edition, in MoMA's Collection (Accession Number: 622.2008). It is not illustrated, due to its similiarity to the impression seen here.
Impression:: "III/X" left lower margin, pencil, unknown hand.
Background:: Bourgeois was often inspired by the subjects of early drawings when creating works at much later dates. This 1994 portfolio is an example of a project based primarily on drawings from the 1940s and referring to her life in New York at that time. The exceptions are as follows: plate 1, based on a drawing from 1986 that references childbirth; plates 4 and 9, based on drawings from the 1940s but depicting memories of her childhood years in France; plate 11, most probably based on a drawing from the 1940s of a European hotel desk.

Bourgeois had three sons: Michel, Jean-Louis, and Alain. Michel and Jean-Louis are mentioned on the source drawings in the Evolving Composition Diagram below.
Curatorial Remarks:: The progression of this composition, as seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below, involved two components: A and B. Before editioning the impression with both components printed on a single sheet, Bourgeois made separate proofs of each component and made state changes to component B.

Of the 14 plates in "Autobiographical Series," Bourgeois titled plates 6 and 12. The untitled plates have been assigned descriptive titles for cataloguing purposes.
Descriptive Title:: Boy and Girl
Description:: Drypoint
State Changes and Additions:: Component A, only state.
Component B, state II of II.
Installation Remarks:: The prints in this portfolio can be shown as a group or individually. There is no required sequence.
Bibliography:: Malbert, Roger, and Juliet Mitchell. "Louise Bourgeois: Autobiographical Prints." London: Hayward, 2016. (Catalogue accompanying the touring exhibition "Louise Bourgeois Prints: Autobiographical Series and 11 Drypoints".)
MoMA Credit Line:: Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:: 74.1997.3
This Work in Other Collections:: Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Québec
Museu da Gravura Cidade de Curitiba, Brazil
Tate Modern, London