LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Alternate Title:

Cramped; Woman with Packages

Themes:

Figures, Motherhood & Family

Techniques:

Drypoint

Description:

Drypoint

Support:

Smooth, wove Somerset paper

Dimensions:

plate: 10 3/4 x 7 3/8" (27.3 x 18.7 cm); sheet: 15 3/16 x 10 15/16" (38.5 x 27.8 cm)

Signature:

Not signed

Inscription:

"5/24/93" left lower margin, pencil, unknown hand; "2nd state" right lower margin, pencil, unknown hand

Publisher:

unpublished

Printer:

Harlan & Weaver, New York

Edition:

5 known impressions of state II

Impression:

Not numbered

Edition Information:

Not issued as a published edition at any state.

State Changes and Additions:

Changes from state I, in drypoint: shading added to lower body; stomach further delineated.

Artist’s Remarks:

Discussing pregnancy, Bourgeois said: "Even though this is a very happy and beautiful feeling, we hope that it is not too much for her... we hope that she is not going to be crushed under the weight of the responsibility. We hope that she is up to it... that she doesn't fall. The axis over her head means that her balance is precarious. She better be careful.
The fear of losing balance forces you to be conscious of physical structure. You become very good at that if you become a sculptor... you have to." (Quotes cited in Wye, Deborah and Carol Smith. "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois." New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 225.)

Curatorial Remarks:

An amendment has been made here to the cataloguing found in Wye and Smith, "The Prints of Louise Bourgeois," 1994, p. 225. At that time, cataloguers were aware of an earlier state, but could not locate an impression. Now, with the discovery of state I, each successive state is later (state I is now state II, state II is now state III, etc.).

Former Cat. No.:

W & S 145

MoMA Credit Line:

Gift of the artist

MoMA Accession Number:

110.1994

© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY