Pierre

Cat. No. 426/V

Pierre

State/Variant:
State V of VI
Date:
1939
Alternate Title:
Birthday
Themes
Figures, Motherhood & Family, Objects
Techniques
Drypoint, Etching
Support:
Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:
plate: 9 11/16 x 6 7/8" (24.6 x 17.5 cm); sheet: 10 5/8 x 8 3/8" (27 x 21.2 cm)
Signature:
"Louise Bourgeois" lower right margin, pencil.
Publisher
unpublished
Printer
Louise Bourgeois
Edition:
1 known impression of state V
Edition Information:
Not issued as a published edition at any state.

Although this composition was not published at any state, two impressions are numbered 4/10, and one is numbered 5/10.
Impression:
Not numbered
Background:
Bourgeois had two siblings: Pierre, her younger brother, and Henriette, her older sister.
Former Cat. No.:
W & S 17
Description:
Soft ground etching and drypoint
Inscription:
"Pierre" lower right margin, pencil, artist's hand.

The alternate title "Birthday" is inscribed on some impressions of this composition, and is the title listed in the exhibition "Art Sale for Armed Services," The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1942.
State Changes and Additions:
Changes from state IV, in etching: fringe added to right figure's ankle; contour lines of right figure’s back reinforced.
Changes from state IV, in drypoint: basket further delineated; hatch marks added in squares on table; lines added in right figure's face; left figure’s profile reinforced.
Artist’s Remarks:
"This is Pierre, my brother. He was always on my side. Here, I am a beautiful girl... look at the hair... but I have to be constantly told by my closest friend, my brother. That is the function of my brother... he has this role and he loves it... he is an unpaid and constant admirer. But this was not a luxury for me... this was a necessity. It is the role played today by John, the homeless man on my block," Bourgeois said in 1994. "He brings little presents to please me. I don't fall for it, but it is still nice. Here, Pierre brings me something to please me and I love it... it makes me feel good. Louise can do anything... I need my friends close by, saying, 'You can do no wrong.'" (Quote cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 54.)
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
117.1990.4
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

Pierre

1939

States
Pierre
Pierre
Pierre
Pierre
Pierre
Pierre
Pierre
Pierre

Related Works in the Catalogue

Dream
Youth

Related Works in Other Mediums

Pierre
Pierre