Louise Josephine Bourgeois (1911 - 2010)
PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU WISH TO SELL A WORK BY LOUISE JOSEPHINE BOURGEOIS
Born in Paris, France, Louise Josephine Bourgeois was a French-American artist, best known for her spider structures, which greatly contributed to modern and contemporary art. It was not until her mother's death, in 1932, that Bourgeois decided to abandon studying mathematics to pursue an education in art. While her father refused to support her new endeavors, she was able to study art by acting as a translator in classes that did not charge translators tuition. In 1935, Bourgeois graduated from the Sorbonne and continued her education at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere from 1937 to 1938. She also studied at Ecole du Louvre and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. After moving to New York City in the 1940s, Bourgeois's work consisted mainly of junkyard scraps and driftwood which she used to carve upright wood sculptures. While her works are abstract, they are representations of her childhood traumas, expressing themes of betrayal, anxiety, and loneliness. Her most famous piece, Maman, is what resulted in her being called "Spiderwoman," ultimately leading her to be recognized as the founder of confessional art. Bourgeois was a member of the American Abstract Artists Group and taught at Pratt Institute, Cooper Union, Brooklyn College, and the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture.