The Prey of an Anxiety

Cat. No. 818, unique variant 1

The Prey of an Anxiety

State/Variant:
Only state, unique variant
Date:
2006
Themes
Abstraction, Fabric Works
Techniques
Etching
Support:
panel (a): Fabric
panel (b): Paper
Dimensions:
plate (each): 59 7/16 × 19 3/4" (151 × 50.1 cm); sheet: 60 × 46" (152.4 × 116.8 cm)
Signature:
panel (b): "LB" lower right comp., pencil.
Publisher
Osiris
Printer
Wingate Studio
Edition:
Unique
Edition Information:
This is one of 7 unique variants outside the edition to incorporate this plate, printed alone or in combination with other plates in multi-panel works. When the plate is used alone, the work is included in the Evolving Composition Diagram. When it is printed with another plate, it is included in Related Works in the Catalogue.

See Evolving Composition Diagram:
"The Prey of an Anxiety"
Untitled, plate 9 of 9, from the illustrated book, "Differentiate"

See Related Works in the Catalogue:
"You Are Heading For It"
"Dizzy Spells"
Untitled, no. 1 of 4, from the series, "Inner Truths or Outer Truths"
Untitled, no. 2 of 3, from the series, "This Need"
"Euphoria"

About the "The Prey of an Anxiety" edition:
Within the edition, there are slight variations in sheet size. There is 1 known impression of the only state, outside the edition. It is inscribed "first proof" in the lower left margin by the artist and signed "Louise Bourgeois" in the lower right margin, both in pencil. There are 2 known cancellation proofs, each with a large "X" drawn across the composition from each corner of the plate.
Impression:
Not numbered
Background:
Benjamin Shiff, the director of the Osiris imprint, collaborated with Bourgeois in a highly experimental phase of printmaking that occupied the last years of her life, from 2005 to 2010. He first established a working relationship with the artist in the 1990s, but the late period is particularly noteworthy for the innovative and complex large-scale projects that evolved at that time. Shiff made use of professional workshops for printing, but he oversaw the creation of the printing plates as Bourgeois worked on them in her home studio. He also provided assistance as she added extensive hand additions and texts, and as she combined individual compositions into multi-panel works and illustrated books.
Curatorial Remarks:
The paper type could not be documented because this work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The plate dimensions are from an impression in MoMA's Collection. The overall mediums and sheet dimensions for the series were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.

The red marks in the lower center of panel (b) do not appear to be an intentional addition by the artist.
Description:
panels (a) and (b): Soft ground etchings
Inscription:
panel (b): "The prey of / an anxiety / The tightening of / the noose" lower left comp., pencil, artist's hand.
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

The Prey of an Anxiety

2006-2007

States
The Prey of an Anxiety
Unique Variants
The Prey of an Anxiety
Untitled, plate 9 of 9, from the illustrated book, Differentiate

Illustrated Book

2007

Differentiate

Related Works in the Catalogue

Euphoria
Incognito
Untitled, no. 1 of 4, from the series, Inner Truths or Outer Truths
The Chain of Events
You Are Heading For It
Dizzy Spells
Untitled, no. 2 of 3, from the series, This Need

Related Works in Other Mediums

Hole of Anxiety
The Cold of Anxiety
The Cold of Anxiety (detail)