Cat. No. 440/I

Untitled, plate 11 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series

State/Variant:: State I of II
Date:: 1993

Themes: Figures, Objects
Techniques: Drypoint
Support:: Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:: plate: 8 3/4 x 6 11/16" (22.2 x 17 cm); sheet: 12 11/16 x 10 11/16" (32.2 x 27.2 cm)
Signature:: Not signed
Publisher: unpublished
Printer: Harlan & Weaver
Edition:: 1 known impression of state I
Edition Information:: Proof before the editioning of state II.
Impression:: Not numbered
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 plates 6 and 12. The untitled plates have been assigned descriptive titles for cataloguing purposes.
Descriptive Title:: Man, keys, phone, clock
Description:: Drypoint, with pencil additions
Artist’s Remarks:: Inscribed by the artist on the wrapper for this plate: "An idealized portrait of Robert / Robert he protects / controls all the keys / and in charge of / protecting the family / the men are / idealized / by me / + the women / are always difficult."
MoMA Credit Line:: Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:: 612.1996
This Work in Other Collections:: Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland
Museu da Gravura Cidade de Curitiba, Brazil
Tate Modern, London

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State I of II

1993

Untitled, plate 11 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series

1993-1994

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1994