
Cat. No. 763
Fences Are Obsolete
- State/Variant:
- Only state
- Date:
- 1999
- Themes
- Architecture
- Techniques
- Drypoint
- Support:
- Smooth, wove Hahnemühle paper
- Dimensions:
- plate: 7 15/16 × 10 7/8" (20.1 × 27.7 cm); sheet: 15 1/16 x 17 1/8" (38.3 x 43.5 cm)
- Signature:
- "Louise Bourgeois 1999" lower right margin, pencil.
- Publisher
- Harlan & Weaver
- Printer
- Harlan & Weaver
- Edition:
- Edition: 25; plus 7 A.P., 5 P.P., 2 H.C., 1 B.A.T.
- Edition Information:
- The additional known impression of the only state, outside the edition, is in MoMA's Collection (Accession Number: 906.2008). It is not illustrated, due to its similarity to the impression seen here.
- Impression:
- "AP 6/7" lower left margin, pencil, artist's hand.
- Curatorial Remarks:
- Publisher Harlan & Weaver groups the editioned state of this composition with ten other drypoints of 1999, under the title, “11 Drypoints.” Each of the 11 compositions can be displayed individually. The full set is as follows:
“The Accident”
“The Angry Cat”
“Don’t Put Your Foot in Your Mouth”
“Fear”
“Feet (Socks)”
“Fences Are Obsolete”
“Madeleine”
“Mosquito”
“Mother and Child”
“Please Hang in There”
“The Smell of the Feet” - Description:
- Drypoint
- 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:
- 418.1999



1999
Fences Are Obsolete
1999
Source
1998


Music on the Airs
1998

Music on the Airs
1998
Medium: Ink on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 12 × 8 3/4" (30.5 × 22.2 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Related Works in the Catalogue
Related Works in Other Mediums


Untitled
1997

Untitled
1997
Medium: Ink and pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 9 × 11 1/2" (22.9 × 29.2 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY


Untitled
1996

Untitled
1996
Medium: Ink and colored pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 9 × 12" (22.9 × 30.5 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY


Dancing Houses
1998

Dancing Houses
1998
Medium: Ink and pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 9 × 11 1/2" (22.9 × 29.2 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY


Fences Are Obsolete
1977

Fences Are Obsolete
1977
Medium: Wood and metal
Dimensions: unknown
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY


Untitled
1997

Untitled
1997
Medium: Red ink and pencil on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 11 5/8 × 9" (29.5 × 22.9 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY


Topiary
1997

Topiary
1997
Medium: Watercolor, ink, oil, charcoal, pencil, and ballpoint pen on paper
Dimensions: 22 × 30" (55.9 × 76.2 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY