Papiers Dans le Vent

Cat. No. 634/II (right) and 634/III (left)

Papiers Dans le Vent

State/Variant:
State II (right) and III (left) of V
Date:
c. 1948
Themes
Abstraction, Nature
Techniques
Drypoint, Engraving
Support:
Smooth, laid paper
Dimensions:
plate (each): 6 15/16 × 3 1/16" (17.6 × 7.7 cm); sheet: 8 11/16 × 13 1/16" (22 × 33.2 cm)
Signature:
"L Bourgeois" lower middle margin (right side), pencil.
Publisher
unpublished
Printer
The artist at Atelier 17
Edition:
1 known impression of state II (right); 1 known impression of state III (left)
Edition Information:
Not issued as a published edition at any state.
Impression:
Not numbered
Curatorial Remarks:
In the second half of the 1940s, Bourgeois spent time at Atelier 17, the print workshop of Stanley William Hayter. The workshop had transferred operations from Paris to New York during the war years. It is not known precisely which prints she made at the workshop since she also worked at home on a small press. The designation of “the artist at Atelier 17” as printer means that the impression was likely made at the workshop. The designation is based on dates, inscriptions, techniques favored at Atelier 17, and/or stylistic similarities to images in the illustrated book “He Disappeared into Complete Silence,” which the artist repeatedly cited as having been made at Atelier 17. It is also possible that Bourgeois worked on certain plates both at home and at the workshop, or pulled impressions at both places.
Former Cat. No.:
W & S 54
Descriptive Title:
English translation: "Paper Fluttering in the Wind"
Description:
State II (right): Engraving and drypoint, with scorper; State III (left): Engraving and drypoint, with scorper
State Changes and Additions:
State II (right):
Changes from state I, in engraving: contour lines added around large crescent at center and short vertical line at crescent’s right end joined to curving line above.
Changes from state I, by scorper: small crescent shape gouged from lower right composition.

State III (left):
Changes from state II, in engraving: curved “V” form added to center composition.
Artist’s Remarks:
This is about "germination" and the "serenity of the pregnant woman... This is a happy mood... I have lots of friends. But, later, the black mood will come... I do not deserve to be happy... to be a mother. I do not deserve friends." (Quote cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. “The Prints of Louise Bourgeois.” New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 124.)
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
150.1990.1
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

Papiers Dans le Vent

c. 1948

States
Papiers Dans le Vent
Papiers Dans le Vent
Papiers Dans le Vent
Papiers Dans le Vent

Related Works in the Catalogue

L'Allée Montante
Sacs Ouvert
Tempête du Vent
Pendus Fragile

Related Works in Other Mediums

Untitled
Untitled
Untitled