Untitled, plate 3 of 14, from the portfolio, Auobiographical Series, component B

Cat. No. 432/B/II

Untitled, plate 3 of 14, from the portfolio, Auobiographical Series, component B

State/Variant:
State II of II
Date:
1993
Alternate Title:
MIchel; Jean Louis
Themes
Faces & Portaits, Figures
Techniques
Drypoint
Support:
Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:
plate: 3 9/16 x 2 3/16" (9 x 5.5 cm); sheet: 12 5/16 x 9 1/4" (31.3 x 23.5 cm)
Signature:
Not signed
Publisher
unpublished
Printer
Harlan & Weaver
Edition:
1 known impression of component B, state II
Edition Information:
Proof before the editioning of the only state with components A and B printed on a single sheet.
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.

Bourgeois had three sons: Michel, Jean-Louis, and Alain. Michel and Jean-Louis are mentioned on the source drawings in the Evolving Composition Diagram below.
Curatorial Remarks:
The progression of this composition, as seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below, involved two components: A and B. Before editioning the impression with both components printed on a single sheet, Bourgeois made separate proofs of each component and made state changes to component B.

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:
Boy
Description:
Drypoint
State Changes and Additions:
Change from state I, in drypoint: right arm altered.
Changes from state I, by burnishing: scratches in lower left composition removed.
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
623.2008
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

Untitled, plate 3 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series

1993-1994

Source

c. 1944

Michel

Source

c. 1944

Jean Louis
Component A
Untitled, plate 3 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series, component A
Component B
Untitled, plate 3 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series, component B
Untitled, plate 3 of 14, from the portfolio, Auobiographical Series, component B
States
Untitled, plate 3 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series

Portfolio

1994

Autobiographical Series