Cat. No. 404/VII

The Angry Cat

State/Variant:: State VII of VII
Date:: 1999

Themes: Animals & Insects, Faces & Portaits
Techniques: Drypoint, Engraving
Support:: Smooth, wove Hahnemühle paper
Dimensions:: plate: 9 15/16 x 11 15/16" (25.2 x 30.3 cm); sheet: 15 1/16 x 17 1/16" (38.2 x 43.4 cm)
Signature:: "Louise Bourgeois. / 1999" lower right margin, pencil.
Publisher: Harlan & Weaver
Printer: Harlan & Weaver
Edition:: 25; plus 7 A.P., 5 P.P., 2 H.C., 1 B.A.T.
Edition Information:: There are 2 known variant impressions of state VII, outside the edition; one is included in the Evolving Composition Diagram below.
Impression:: "AP 6/7" lower left margin, pencil, unknown hand.
Background:: In the 1950s, when Bourgeois was living with her husband and children in an apartment on 18th Street in New York City, the family had two cats: Champfleurette and Tyger.
Curatorial Remarks:: States I-VI of this composition are each titled "Champfleurette #2." (See also the 1993-1994 print, “Champfleurette, The White Cat,” in Related Works in the Catalogue below.)

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”

A tea towel merchandise item was made from a variant of state II (Cat. No. 404/II, variant 1). A mouse pad merchandise item was made from a different variant of state II (Cat. No. 404/II, variant 2). A t-shirt merchandise item was made from state VI (Cat. No. 404/VI).
Description:: Drypoint and engraving, with selective wiping
State Changes and Additions:: Changes from state VI by burnishing: eyes and ears lightened; two vertical lines delineating neck removed; one small, elliptical form above mouth, three within nose, and one left of nose, all removed.
Changes from state VI in drypoint: background at top shaded; ears further shaded; whiskers added; one small, elliptical form above right eye, one left of nose, and two below nose, all added and filled in; one small, elliptical form within nose, and one left of nose, re-drawn and filled in.
Changes from state VI in engraving: whiskers added; eyes further delineated; contours of ears reinforced.
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:: 16.2002
This Work in Other Collections:: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia