Empty Nest, plate 6 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series

Cat. No. 435/III

Empty Nest, plate 6 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series

State/Variant:
State III of III
Date:
1994
Portfolio:
Autobiographical Series
Themes
Architecture, Figures, Motherhood & Family, Objects
Techniques
Drypoint
Support:
Smooth, wove Somerset paper
Dimensions:
plate: 8 15/16 x 11 15/16" (22.7 x 30.3 cm); sheet: 14 15/16 x 20 7/8" (38 x 53.1 cm)
Signature:
"LB" lower right margin, pencil.
Publisher
Peter Blum Edition
Printer
Harlan & Weaver
Edition:
35; plus 10 H.C.
Edition Information:
There is 1 known variant impression of state III, outside the edition.
Impression:
"III/X" lower left 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.
Curatorial Remarks:
Of the 14 plates in "Autobiographical Series," Bourgeois titled this plate and plate 12. The untitled plates have been assigned descriptive titles for cataloguing purposes.
Description:
Drypoint
State Changes and Additions:
Changes from state II, in drypoint: rightmost stool leg lengthened.
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:
74.1997.6
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
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

Empty Nest , plate 6 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series

1993-1994

States
Empty Nest, plate 6 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series
Empty Nest, plate 6 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series
Empty Nest, plate 6 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series
Empty Nest, plate 6 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series

Portfolio

1994

Autobiographical Series