LOUISE BOURGEOIS
Through May 15, 2016
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
Louise Bourgeois. Photo, Yann Charbonnier, 1990
The 21 works in the exhibition, either drawn from the collection or promised to the Gallery,
reveal Bourgeois’s intensely personal approach to art-making and explore
her grounding in surrealism and ties to existentialism.
Highlights
No Exit will present key early works, including three pen drawings (1947–1950) that evoke the cascading rivers and mountain peaks of Aubusson, the tapestry-producing region of France and home to Bourgeois’s mother’s family. Other highlights include the artist’s psychologically charged print project, He Disappeared into Complete Silence (1947)—a work that signals the imagery and themes that would engage Bourgeois until her death at age 98—and three of Bourgeois’s totemic sculptures installed in a small, relatively enclosed space to faintly allude to the three souls of Sartre’s play, No Exit, forced to co-exist in the same room in hell.
Also on view are more recent works: the puritan (1990), an extraordinary book written and illustrated by Bourgeois, one of only a few copies hand-colored by the artist, and the drawing My Hand (1997), an image of the artist’s knobby hand penned in striking red and splayed on a sheet of music paper.
Louise Bourgeois
La tapisserie de mon enfance, Mountains in Aubusson (The Tapestry of My Childhood), 1947
Brush and black ink and gouache on cream paper sheet: 19 x 12 in. (48.3 x 30.5 cm)
Corcoran Collection (Gift of William H. G. FitzGerald, Desmond FitzGerald, and B. Francis Saul II) © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.
He Disappeared into Complete Silence (1947)
Comprising nine engravings and nine disquieting parables. Vintage copy. A work that signals the imagery and themes that would engage Bourgeois until her death at age 98
Louise Bourgeois. 1) Louise Bourgeois in her studio at East 18th Street in New York, circa 1946, Photo: Louise Bourgeois Archive
2) He Disappeared into Complete Silence, 1947. Suite of nine engravings with artist’s text, title page, colophon and separate cover page size: 25.4 x 35.56 cm (10 x 14 in.) closed: 26.99 x 19.37 x 1.27 cm (10 5/8 x 7 5/8 x 1/2 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Purchased as the Gift of Dian Woodner. © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.
Louise Bourgeois. 1) He Disappeared into Complete Silence, Plate 1, 1947, engraving in black on wove paper, plate: 20 x 6.51 cm (7 7/8 x 2 9/16 in.) sheet: 25.4 x 17.78 cm (10 x 7 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Purchased as the Gift of Dian Woodner © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.2) He Disappeared into Complete Silence, Plate 2, 1947, engraving in black on wove paper, plate: 17.46 x 13.81 cm (6 7/8 x 5 7/16 in.) sheet: 25.72 x 17.62 cm (10 1/8 x 6 15/16 in.)National Gallery of Art, Washington, Purchased as the Gift of Dian Woodner. © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.
Louise Bourgeois. 1) He Disappeared into Complete Silence, Plate 4, 1947, engraving in black on wove paper, plate: 42.7 x 12.38 cm (16 13/16 x 4 7/8 in.) sheet: 25.72 x 17.62 cm (10 1/8 x 6 15/16 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Purchased as the Gift of Dian Woodner © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.2) He Disappeared into Complete Silence, Plate 5, 1947, engraving in black on wove paper, plate: 17.46 x 12.54 cm (6 7/8 x 4 15/16 in.) sheet: 25.72 x 17.62 cm (10 1/8 x 6 15/16 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Purchased as the Gift of Dian Woodner. © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.
Louise Bourgeois. 1) He Disappeared into Complete Silence, Plate 7, 1947, engraving in black on wove paper plate: 17.78 x 13.65 cm (7 x 5 3/8 in.) sheet: 25.4 x 17.78 cm (10 x 7 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Purchased as the Gift of Dian Woodner. © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.2) He Disappeared into Complete Silence, Plate 8, 1947, engraving in black on wove paper, plate: 17.46 x 12.54 cm (6 7/8 x 4 15/16 in.) sheet: 25.4 x 17.78 cm (10 x 7 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Purchased as the Gift of Dian Woodner. © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.
Totemic sculptures
Louise Bourgeois. 1) Spring, 1949, painted balsa, overall: 153.7 cm (60 1/2 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of the Collectors Committee. © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.2) Mortise, 1950, painted wood, overall: 152.4 x 45.7 x 38.1 cm (60 x 18 x 15 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of the Collectors Committee. © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.
Germinal
A strangely compelling marble sculpture
Louise Bourgeois. 1) Germinal, 1967, marble, overall: 5 1/2 x 7 3/8 x 6 1/4 in. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Promised Gift of Dian Woodner. © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.2) Louise Bourgeois in her studio. Photo from Louise Bourgeois’ archives.
The Puritan
An extraordinary book written and illustrated by Bourgeois, one of only a few copies
hand-colored by the artist
Louise Bourgeois. 1) The puritan 1, 1990, engraving in black with additions in gouache on Twinrocker handmade paper with Japan gampi chine collé, plate: 42.55 x 27.31 cm (16 3/4 x 10 3/4 in.) sheet: 65.72 x 50.17 cm (25 7/8 x 19 3/4 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of the Heather and Tony Podesta Collection. © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.2) The puritan 3, 1990, engraving in black with additions in gouache on Twinrocker handmade paper with Japan gampi chine collé, plate: 42.55 x 27.62 cm (16 3/4 x 10 7/8 in.) sheet: 65.72 x 5.17 cm (25 7/8 x 19 3/4 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of the Heather and Tony Podesta Collection. © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.
Louise Bourgeois. 1) The puritan 5, 1990, engraving in black with additions in gouache on Twinrocker handmade paper with Japan gampi chine collé, plate: 42.55 x 32.39 cm (16 3/4 x 12 3/4 in.) sheet: 65.72 x 50.17 cm (25 7/8 x 19 3/4 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of the Heather and Tony Podesta Collection. © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.2) The puritan 8, 1990, engraving in black with additions in gouache on Twinrocker handmade paper with Japan gampi chine collé, plate: 42.55 x 27.62 cm (16 3/4 x 10 7/8 in.) sheet: 65.72 x 50.17 cm (25 7/8 x 19 3/4 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of the Heather and Tony Podesta Collection. © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.
M is for Mother
A drawing of an imposing letter M that conveys not only maternal comfort but also maternal control.
Louise Bourgeois. 1) Paris Review, 1994, liftground aquatint and drypoint with white gouache additions on wove Somerset Satin paper, plate: 80.5 x 60 cm (31 11/16 x 23 5/8 in.) sheet: 93.4 x 71.7 cm (36 3/4 x 28 1/4 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Carolyn Kaplan. © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.2) M is for Mother, 1998, pen and red ink with colored pencil and graphite on paper, sheet: 22.9 x 29.8 cm (9 x 11 3/4 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Dian Woodner. © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY.
Bourgeois’s monumental Spider
1996, cast 1997, is on view in the Gallery’s Sculpture Garden
NGA Director statement
“We are pleased to celebrate Louise Bourgeois in this compelling presentation,” said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. “The National Gallery of Art first acquired works by Bourgeois in 1992, when our Collectors Committee purchased and donated three of her early sculptures and a fourth was donated by the artist.
Since then, especially in the last decade, our collection of works by Bourgeois has been enhanced mainly through generous gifts and pledges by Dian Woodner of New York and Tony Podesta of Washington, but also in last year’s acquisition of an outstanding drawing from the Corcoran Gallery of Art.”
Exhibition Curator. The exhibition is organized by Judith Brodie, curator of modern prints and drawings, National Gallery of Art.
Louise Bourgeois
1) Louise with her family, Paris 1921. 2) Louise Wedding photo, 1938
Born to a prosperous Parisian family, French American Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010) first encountered the surrealists in France as a university student in the 1930s. After marrying the American art historian Robert Goldwater and moving to New York in 1938, she became reacquainted with the European surrealists who were exiled during the war.
Surrealism informed her early endeavors as an artist, including her early prints, paintings, and drawings, as well as the human-size totemic sculptures for which she first gained renown. However, Bourgeois never identified with the male-dominated movement and bristled at critics who labeled her a surrealist. Instead, she self-identified as an existentialist, not only quoting philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre in interviews but also naming one of her sculptures after Sartre’s play No Exit.
Studied at the Lycée Fénelon, Paris, France, 1921 – 1927
Studied Mathematics at the Sorbonne, Paris, France, 1932 – 1935
Studied at the École du Louvre, Paris, France, 1935 – 1936
Studied at the Atelier Roger Bissière de l‘Académie Ranson, 1936 – 1937
Studied at the Académie d‘Espagnat, 1936 – 1937
Studied at the École des Beaux-Arts with Devambez and Colarossi, Paris, France, 1936 – 1938
Studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière with Othon Friesz and Wlérick, Paris, France, 1937 – 1938
Studied at the Académie Julian, Paris, France, 1938
Studied at the Académie Scandinavie with Charles Despiau, 1938
Worked in the Atelier of Fernand Léger, Paris, France, 1938
Moved to New York NY, 1938
Art Students League with Vaclav Vytlacil, 1938 – 1939
Atelier 17, New York NY, 1946
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2015
National Gallery of Art, ‘ Louise Bourgeois: No Exit’, Washington DC
Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, ‘Structures of Existence: The Cells’, Moscow, Russia (Travelling Exhibition)
Museo Picasso Málaga, ‘Louise Bourgeois. I Have Been to Hell and Back’, Málaga, Spain (Travelling Exhibition)
Moderna Museet, ‘ Louise Bourgeois. I Have Been to Hell and Back’, Stockholm, Sweden (Travelling Exhibition)
Lund Fine Art, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Oslo, Norway (Travelling Exhibition)
2014
Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, ‘Artist Rooms: Louise Bourgeois, A Woman without Secrets’, Middlesbrough, England (Travelling Exhibition)
Hauser & Wirth, ‘Louise Bourgeois. L’araignée et les tapisseries’, Zurich, Switzerland
2013
Fruitmarket Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois: I Give Everything Away’, Edinburgh, Scotland
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, ‘Artist Rooms Foundation: Louise Bourgeois, A Woman Without Secrets’, Edinburgh, Scotland (Travelling Exhibition)
Fruitmarket Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois: The Insomnia Drawings & The Late Suites’, Edinburgh, Scotland
Faurschou Foundation, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Alone and Together’, Copenhagen, Denmark (Travelling Exhibition)
Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Petite Maman’, Mexico City, Mexico
2012
Faurschou Foundation, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Alone and Together’, Beijing, China (Travelling Exhibition)
Graphische Sammlung der ETH Zürich, ‘The Graphic Series by Louise Bourgeois’, Zurich, Switzerland
Art Gallery of Alberta, ’Louise Bourgeois’, Edmonton, Canada
Heide Museum of Modern Art, ’Louise Bourgeois: Late Work’, Bulleen, Australia
Casa Encendida, ’Louise Bourgeois (2000-2010): Honni Soit Qui’, Madrid, Spain
Freud Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois. The Return of the Repressed’, London, England
Qatar Museums Authority Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Conscious and Unconscious’, Doha, Qatar
Hamburger Kunsthalle, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Passage dangereux’, Hamburg, Germany
2011
Museu do Arte Moderno, ‘Louise Bourgeois. The Return of the Repressed’, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Travelling Exhibition)
Fondation Beyeler, ‘A L’infini’, Riehen, Switzerland
Cheim & Read, ‘Louise Bourgeois: The Fabric Works’, New York NY
Fundación Proa, ‘Louise Bourgeois. The Return of the Repressed’, Buenos Aires, Argentina (Travelling Exhibition)
Wexner Center for the Arts, ‘Double Sexus: Hans Bellmer and Louise Bourgeois’, Columbus OH (travelling exhibitions)
National Gallery of Iceland, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Kona/Femme’, Reykjavik, Iceland
Hauser & Wirth Zürich, ‘Alex Van Gelder – Louise Bourgeois. ARMED FORCES’, Zurich, Switzerland
Royal West of England Academy, ‘Louise Bourgeois and Tracey Emin. Do Not Abandon Me’, Bristol, England (Travelling Exhibition)
Kunstforeningen GL Strand, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Mother and Child’, Copenhagen, Denmark (Travelling Exhibition)
Hauser & Wirth London, ‘Louise Bourgeois and Tracey Emin. Do Not Abandon Me’, London, England (Travelling Exhibition)
Galerie Lelong, ‘Estampes et dessins’, Paris, France
National Gallery of Canada, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Ottawa, Canada
2010
Gemeentemuseum, ‘Louise Bourgeois and Hans Bellmer – Double Sexus’, Den Hague, The Netherlands (travelling exhibitions)
Nordic Watercolour Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Mother and Child’, Skärhman, Sweden (Travelling Exhibition)
Hauser & Wirth London, ‘Louise Bourgeois: The Fabric Works’, London, England (Travelling Exhibition)
Carolina Nitsch, ‘Louise Bourgeois and Tracey Emin – Do Not Abandon Me’, New York NY (Travelling Exhibition)
Fondazione Emilio e Annabianca Vedova, ‘Louise Bourgeois: The Fabric Works’, Venice, Italy (Travelling Exhibition)
Gallery Paule Anglim, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, San Francisco CA
Museum of Cycladic Art, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Athens, Greece
Kukje Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Les Fleurs’, Seoul, Korea
Maison de Balzac, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Moi, Eugénie Grandet…’, Paris, France
Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg, ‘Louise Bourgeois / Hans Bellmer’, Berlin, Germany
2009
The Hirshhorn Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Retrospective’, Washington DC (Travelling Exhibition)
Galerie Carsten Greve, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Cologne, Germany
Galleri Andersson / Sandström, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Stockholm, Sweden
2008
Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Naples, Italy
Hauser & Wirth Zürich, ‘La Rivière Gentille’, Zurich, Switzerland
Inverleith House, ‘Recent Drawings’, Edinburgh, Scotland
Cheim & Read, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Echo’, New York NY
Tate Modern, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Retrospective’, London, England (Travelling Exhibition)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Retrospective’, New York NY (Travelling Exhibition)
MOCA – Museum of Contemporary Art, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Retrospective’, Los Angeles CA (Travelling Exhibition)
2007
Carolina Nitsch Project Room: ‘Louise Bourgeois. Hours of the Day’, New York NY
Espacia AV, la Region de Murcia, ‘Louise Bourgeois: La Sage Femme’, Murcia, Spain
Marlborough Gallery, London, England
Centre Georges Pompidou, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Retrospective’, Paris, France (Travelling Exhibition)
Hauser & Wirth London, ‘Louise Bourgeois: New Work’, London, England
Kaliman Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Institute of Contemporary Arts, ‘Bourgeois in Boston’, Boston MA
Christine König Galerie, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Quarantania 1947/1990’, Vienna, Austria
Kukje Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Abstraction’, Seoul, South Korea
Storm King Art Center, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Mountainville NY
Philadelphia Museum of Art, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Crouching Spider’, Philadelphia PA
Worcester Art Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois: The Woven Child’, Worcester MA
Kunstmuseum Bern, Graphisches Kabinett, ‘Fugue’, Berne, Switzerland
2006
Christine Bader, ‘Louise Bourgeois – Scultura e Opere Grafiche’, Lugano, Switzerland
Peter Blum, ‘Works on Paper from the 1940s and 1950s’, New York NY
Hauser & Wirth Zürich, ‘Louise Bourgeois and Roni Horn: Drawings’, Zurich, Switzerland
Goya Contemporary, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Prints & unique works on paper’, Baltimore MD
Galerie Lelong, ‘Louise Bourgeois – Estampes et porcelaines 1996-2005’, Paris, France
Greg Kucera Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Print Focus: Recent Editions’, Seattle WA
Walters Art Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Femme’, Baltimore MD
Kunsthalle Bielefeld, ‘Louise Bourgeois. La famille’, Bielefeld, Germany
Butler Gallery, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Kilkenny, Ireland
Worcester Art Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois, The Woven Child’, Worcester MA
2005
Galerie Karsten Greve, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Cologne, Germany
Kunsthalle Wien, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Aller-Retour’, Vienna, Austria
Gallery Paule Anglim, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Works on Paper and Cloth’, San Francisco CA
Neue Galerie im Höhmannhaus, ‘Louise Bourgeois. La Sage Femme’, Augsburg, Germany
Galleri Stefan Andersson, ‘Louise Bougeois. Fabric and Paperworks’, Umeå, Sweden
Hauser & Wirth London, ‘Sublimation’, London, England
Museum of Contemporary Art, ‘Stitches in Time’, North Miami OK (Travelling Exhibition)
Wifredo Lam Centre, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Havana, Cuba
Kukje Gallery, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Seoul, South Korea
2004
Karsten Greve, ‘Louise Bourgeois – Prints’, Paris, France
Cheim & Read Gallery, ‘The Reticent Child’, New York NY
CAC – Centro de Arte Contemporàneo, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Stitches in Time’, Malaga, Spain (Travelling Exhibition)
The Fruitmarket Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Stitches in Time’, Edinburgh, Scotland (Travelling Exhibition)
Daros Collection, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Zurich, Switzerland
Akira Ikeda Gallery Muranchi, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Yokosuka, Japan
Peter Blum, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Ode à l’ Oubli’, New York NY
Galerie Scheffel, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Bad Homburg, Germany
2003
Sigmund Freud Museum, ‘A View from the Outside. Louise Bourgeois. The Reticent Child’, Vienna, Austria
Aspen Art Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois. The Early Work’, Aspen CO
Zacheta Gallery of Art, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Geometry of Desire’, Warsaw, Poland
Paule Anglim Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. La Sage-Femme’, San Francisco CA
Akademie der Künste, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Intimate Abstractions’, Berlin, Germany
Louisiana Museum for Moderne Kunst, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Humlebaek, Denmark
Xavier Hufkens Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Shiraishi Contemporary Art, ‘Spiders. Louise Bourgeois’, Tokyo, Japan
Dia Center for the Arts, Beacon, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Installation at inauguration of Dia: Beacon’, Beacon NY
Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Maman’, Grand Rapids MI
Galerie Karsten Greve, Cologne, Germany
The Whitney Museum of American Art, ‘Louise Bourgeois. The Insomnia Drawings’, New York NY
Irish Museum of Modern Art, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Stitches in Time’, Dublin, Ireland (Travelling Exhibition)
Centre Georges Pompidou, ‘Louise Bourgeois and James Lee Byars’, Paris, France
White Cube Gallery, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, London, England
Akademie der Künste, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Berlin, Germany (Travelling Exhibition)
2002
Helsinki City Art Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Helsinki, Finland
Palais de Tokyo, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Le Jour La Nuit Le Jour’, Paris, France
Galería Soledad Lorenzo, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Madrid, Spain
Galerie Karsten Greve, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Milan, Italy
Kukje Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Madrid, Spain
Fine Arts Work Center, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Provincetown MA
Playhouse Square’s Star Plaza, ‘Louise Bourgeois Spiders’ (organised in ass. with Cleveland Public Art, Inc.), Cleveland OH
The Ace Gallery, Hamilton, Bermuda
Kulturhuset, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Stockholm, Sweden
Beaumontpublic + Königbloc, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Recent sculptures and drawings’, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Ars TEOR / Ética Fundacion, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Childhood’, San Jose, Costa Rica
Museet for Samtidskunst, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Oslo, Norway
Hauser & Wirth Zürich, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Works in Marble’, Zurich, Switzerland
Kunsthaus Bregenz, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Bregenz, Austria (Travelling Exhibition)
Bunkier Sztuki Gallery of Contemporary Art, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Krakow, Poland (Travelling Exhibition)
Cheim & Read Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. William Eggleston. Documenta XI’, Kassel, Germany
Krannert Art Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois. The Early Work’, Champaign IL (Travelling Exhibition)
Madison Art Center, ‘Louise Bourgeois. The Early Work’, Madison WI (Travelling Exhibition)
David Floria Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Recent Works on Paper’, Aspen CO
2001
Galerie Karsten Greve, ‘Louise Bourgeois – Œuvres récentes’, Paris, France
C&M Arts, ‘Louise Bourgeois – The Personages’, New York NY
Cheim & Read Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, New York NY
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Bilbao, Spain
Akademie der bildenden Künste, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Reconstruction of the Past’, Vienna, Austria
Kunstraum Innsbruck, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Passage Dangereux’, Innsbruck, Austria
The State Hermitage Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
Peter Blum, New York NY
Rockefeller Center / Public Art Fund, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Spiders’, New York NY
Galerie Fahnemann, ‘Louise Bourgeois. The Puritan’, Berlin, Germany
Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Illustrated Books’, New York NY
Musée d’Art Américain, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Livres Illustrés’, Giverny, France
Williams College Museum of Art, ‘75th Anniversary Sculpture: Louise Bourgeois’, Williamstown MA
2000
Hauser & Wirth Zürich, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Neue Arbeiten/Recent Works’, Zurich, Switzerland
Franco Masoero, ‘Louise Bourgeois and Carol Rama: Prints from 1944 to 2000’, Turin, Italy
Galleria Karsten Greve, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Works on Paper’, Milan, Italy
Galerie Lelong, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Estampes 1990-2000’, Paris, France
Kappatos Gallery Athens, Greece
National Museum of Contemporary Art, Kyungki-do, South Korea
Tate Modern, ‘Louise Bourgeois’ (retrospective and installation), London, England
Grafiska Sallskapet, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Stockholm, Sweden (Travelling Exhibition)
Norrköpings Konstmuseum, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Norrköping, Sweden (Travelling Exhibition)
Göteborg Museum of Art, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Gothenburg, Sweden (Travelling Exhibition)
Jardin des Tuileries, ‘Installation of The Welcoming Hands by Louise Bourgeois’, Paris, France
1999
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Prints 1989-1998’, Minneapolis MN
Galerie Lelong, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Metamorphosis and other works on paper’, New York NY
Wexner Center for the Visual Arts, ‘Wexner Prize Wall’, Columbus OH
Remba Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Metamorphosis and other works on paper’, West Hollywood CA
Piece Unique, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Topiary’, Paris, France
Museo Nacional, Centro de Arte Reina Sofìa, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Memoria y arquitectura’, Madrid, Spain
Kunsthalle Bielefeld, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Bielefeld, Germany
Jaffe-Friede & Strauss Galleries, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Sculpture from the 1940s and Works on Paper’, Hanover NH
Maier Museum of Art, Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Prints 1989-1998’, Lynchburg VA
Galerie Karsten Greve, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Cologne, Germany
Galerie Paula Böttcher, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Berlin, Germany
Galerie Seitz-von Werder, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Berlin, Germany
Ernst-Museum, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Budapest, Hungary
1998
Serpentine Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Recent Work’, London, England
Centro Cultural de Belém, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Obras Recentes’, Lisbon, Portugal
Barbara Krakow Gallery, ‘The Geometry of Pleasure’, Boston MA
Wood Street Galleries, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Art is a Guarantee of Sanity’, Pittsburgh PA
The Art Gallery of Ontario, ‘Past Tense. Louise Bourgeois’, Toronto, Canada
The Whitney Museum of American Art, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Topiary’, New York NY
Galerie Lars Bohman, ‘Louise Bourgeois. New Works’, Stockholm, Sweden
Malmö Konsthall, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Nyare verk’, Malmö, Sweden
Espace Saint-François, ‘Carte Blanche à Annee Dijan. The Drawings of Louise Bourgeois’, Lausanne, Switzerland
CAPC – musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux Entrepôt, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Recent Work’, Bordeaux, France
North Carolina Museum of Art, ‘Sacred and fatal: The Art of Louise Bourgeois’, Raleigh NC
The Art Gallery of Ontario, ‘Present Tense: Louise Bourgeois’, Toronto, Canada
The Lotos Club, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, New York NY
1997
The Arts Club of Chicago, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Chicago IL
Xavier Hufkens Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Brussels, Belgium
Prada Foundation, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Blue Days and Pink Days’, Milan, Italy
Rhona Hoffman Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Drawings 1947-1997’, Chicago IL
Cheim & Read, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Spider’, New York NY
The Contemporary Arts Center, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Ode à Ma Mère’, Cincinnati OH
Centro Cultural da Light, ‘The Drawings of Louise Bourgeois’, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Marion Locks Gallery, Philadelphia PA
Centro Cultural Banco Cultural do Brasil, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Sculpture’, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Galerie Karsten Greve, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Dessins Récents’, Paris, France
Galerie Karsten Greve, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Cologne, Germany
Brooklyn Academy of Music, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Hamlet and Ophelia’, Brooklyn NY
Robert Miller Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Hamlet and Ophelia’, New York NY
Yokohama Museum of Art, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Homesickness’, Yokohama, Japan
1996
Hauser & Wirth Zürich, ‘Red Room’, Zurich, Switzerland
Galerie Soledad Lorenzo, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Madrid, Spain
University Art Museum, University of California, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Drawings’, Berkeley CA (Travelling Exhibition)
The Drawing Center, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Drawings’, New York NY (Travelling Exhibition)
The List Visual Art Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Drawings’, Cambridge MA (Travelling Exhibition)
The Art Gallery of Ontario, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Drawings’, Toronto, Canada (Travelling Exhibition)
Fundacão Cultural de Curitaba/Museu da Gravura, ‘XI. Mostra da Gravura. Mostra América’ (special room dedicated in honour of Louise Bourgeois), Curitiba, Brazil
Gallery Paule Anglim, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, San Francisco CA
Ville de Choisy, Service municipal d’arts plastiques (on the occasion of the installation of ‘Les Bienvenus’), Choisy le Roi, France
Galerie Karsten Greve, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Arbeiten auf Papier’, Cologne, Germany
Deichtorhallen, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Der Ort des Gedächtnisses Skulpturen, Environments und Zeichnungen. 1946-1995’, Hamburg, Germany
Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, ‘The Locus of Memory’, Montreal, Canada (Travelling Exhibition)
Baumgartner Galleries, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Spiders’, Washington DC
Rupertinum, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Skulpturen und Objekte’, Salzburg, Austria
Galerie Samuel Lallouz, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Montreal, Canada
Gallery Josedoff / Harry Jack Gray Center, University of Hartford, ‘Louise Bourgeois: The Forties and the Fifties’, Westford CT
Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Seville, Spain
Museo Rufina Tamayo, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Mexico City, Mexico
ORIEL, The Arts Council of Wales Gallery, The Friary, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Sculptures’, Cardiff, Wales
Bonnefanten Museum, ‘The Prints of Louise Bourgeois’, Maastricht, Netherlands
1995
MARCO – Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Monterrey, Mexico
Museum of Modern Art, ‘The Prints of Louise Bourgeois’ (accompanied by an exhibition of sculptures), Oxford, England
Barbara Mathes Gallery, ‘20th Century Master Drawings’, New York NY
National Gallery of Victoria, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Melbourne, Australia
Museum of Contemporary Art, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Sydney, Australia
Galerie Piece Unique, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Paris, France
Galerie Karsten Greve, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Hommage à Duras’, Cologne, Germany
Galerie Karsten Greve, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Drawings’, Paris, France
Galeria Rudolfinum, ‘The Locus of Memory’, Prague, Czech Republic (Travelling Exhibition)
Théâtre du Vieux Colombier, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Dessins pour Duras’, Paris, France
Walker Hill Art Center, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Seoul, South Korea
Mitsubishi-Jisho Artium, Fukuoka City, Japan
École Nationale des Beaux-Art de Bourges, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Drawings’, Bourges, France
Centre Georges Pompidou, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Pensées-Plumes’, Paris, France (Travelling Exhibition)
Helsinki City Art Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Pensées-Plumes’, Helsinki, Finland (Travelling Exhibition)
Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Sculptures, environnements, dessins. 1938-1995’, Paris, France
Musée du Dessin et de l’Estampe Originale, ‘The Prints of Louise Bourgeois’, Gravelines, France
Bibliothèque Nationale, ‘The Prints of Louise Bourgeois’, Paris, France
1994
The Corcoran Gallery of Art, ‘The Locus of Memory’, Washington DC (Travelling Exhibition)
Museum of Modern Art, ‘The Prints of Louise Bourgeois’, New York NY
Galerie Karsten Greve, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Skulpturen und Installationen’, Cologne, Germany
Kestner-Gesellschaft, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Skulpturen’, Hanover, Germany
Archives of American Art, ‘The Louise Bourgeois Papers. A Promised Gift to the Archives of American Art’, New York NY
Marion Locks Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois: The Art of Assemblage’, Philadelphia PA
Peter Blum, ‘The Red Rooms’, New York NY
Galleria Karsten Greve, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Milan, Italy
Galerie Espace, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Etchings’, Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Saint Louis Art Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois: The Personages’, St. Louis MO
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Kansas City MO
Brooklyn Museum of Art, ‘The Locus of Memory’, Brooklyn NY (Travelling Exhibition)
1993
La Biennale di Venezia, ‘XLV Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte’, American Pavilion, Venice, Italy
Ginny Williams Family Foundation, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Denver CO
Galerie Ramis Barquet, ‘Louise Bourgeois’, Monterrey, Mexico
Laura Carpenter Fine Art, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Personnages, 1940s, Installations, 1990s’, Santa Fe NM
Jan Weiner Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Etchings’, Topeka KS
Linda Cathcart Gallery, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Santa Monica CA
1992
Galerie Karsten Greve, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Paris, France
National Gallery of Art, East Wing, ‘Installation of recent acquisitions’, Washington DC
Barbara Krakow Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Prints 1947-1991’, Boston MA
The Fabric Workshop, ‘The Fabric Workshop’s 15th Anniversary. Annual Benefit Honoring Louise Bourgeois and Anne d’Harnoncourt’ (opening of a new installation by Louise Bourgeois in collaboration with the Fabric Workshop ‘She Lost it’), Philadelphia PA
Second Floor, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Drawings’, Reykjavik, Iceland
Milwaukee Art Museum, ‘Currents 21: Louise Bourgeois’, Milwaukee WI
Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Toronto, Canada
Parrish Art Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois. C.O.Y.O.T.E.’ (installed at the museum’s front entrance), Southampton NY
1991
Galerie Lelong, ‘Louise Bourgeois. L‘Œuvre gravée’, Zurich, Switzerland
Kunstmuseum Bern, ‘Louise Bourgeois. A Retrospective Exhibition’, Berne, Switzerland (Travelling Exhibition)
Kröller-Müller Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois. A Retrospective Exhibition’, Otterlo, Netherlands (Travelling Exhibition)
Robert Miller Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Recent Sculpture’, New York NY
Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Toronto, Canada
1990
Galerie Karsten Greve, ‘Bronzen der 40er und 50er Jahre’, Cologne, Germany
Barbara Gross Galerie, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Drawings and Sculpture’, Munich, Germany
Fundació Tàpies, ‘Louise Bourgeois. A Retrospective Exhibition’, Barcelona, Spain (Travelling Exhibition)
Galerie Krinzinger, ‘Louise Bourgeois. 1939-89. Skulpturen und Zeichnungen’, Vienna, Austria
Linda Cathcart Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Bronze Sculpture and Drawings’, Santa Monica CA
Ginny Williams Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Four Decades’, Denver CO
Monica Sprüth Galerie, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Sculptures and Drawings’, Cologne, Germany
Riverside Studios, ‘Louise Bourgeois. 1984-89’, London, England
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, ‘Louise Bourgeois. A Retrospective Exhibition’, Munich, Germany (Travelling Exhibition)
Musée d’art contemporain, ‘Louise Bourgeois. A Retrospective Exhibition’, Lyon, France (Travelling Exhibition)
Karsten Schubert, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Drawings’, London, England
1989
Ydessa Art Foundation, ‘Louise Bourgeois: Legs’, Toronto, Canada
Frankfurter Kunstverein, ‘Louise Bourgeois. A Retrospective Exhibition’, Frankfurt a. M., Germany (Travelling Exhibition)
Rhona Hoffman Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Selected Works’, Chicago IL
Galerie Lelong, ‘Louise Bourgeois. 100 Zeichnungen’, Zurich, Switzerland
Art Gallery of York University, ‘Recent Sculpture by Louise Bourgeois’, North Yorkshire, England
Dia Art Foundation, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Works from the Sixties’, Bridgehampton NY
American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Sculpture’, New York NY
Sperone Westwater Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Works from the 50s’, New York NY
Galerie Lelong, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Progressions and Regressions’, New York NY
Robert Miller Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois – Sculpture’, New York NY
Galerie Lelong, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Dessins 1940/86’, Paris, France
1988
Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Work 1943-1987’, Seattle WA
Museum Overholland, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Works On Paper’, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Laguna Gloria Art Museum, ‘Sculpture by Louise Bourgeois’, Austin TX
Gallery of Art, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Washington University, St Louis MO
Robert Miller Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Drawings 1939-1987’, New York NY
1987
Everson Museum of Art, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Syracuse NY
Riva Yares Gallery, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Scottsdale AZ
Janet Steinberg Gallery, ‘Paintings and Drawings’, San Francisco CA
Gallery Paul Anglim, ‘Sculpture 1947-1955’, San Francisco CA
The Taft Museum, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Cincinnati OH
The Art Museum, Florida International University, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, Miami FL
Robert Miller Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Paintings from the 1940s’, New York NY
1986
Texas Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Sculptures and Drawings’, Houston TX
Robert Miller Gallery, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, New York NY
The Doris Feldmann Plaza, ‘Eyes’, New York NY
1985
Serpentine Gallery, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, London, England
Galerie Maeght-Lelong, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Retrospektive 1947-1984’, Paris, France (Travelling Exhibition)
Galerie Maeght-Lelong, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Retrospektive 1947-1984’, Zurich, Switzerland (Travelling Exhibition)
1984
Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles CA
Robert Miller Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Sculpture’, New York NY
1983
Daniel Weinberg Gallery, ‘Louis Bourgeois’, San Francisco CA
Contemporary Arts Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Retrospective’, Houston TX (Travelling Exhibition)
Museum of Contemporary Art, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Retrospective’, Chicago IL (Travelling Exhibition)
Akron Art Museum, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Retrospective’, Akron OH (Travelling Exhibition)
1982
Robert Miller Gallery, ‘Bourgeois Truth’, New York NY
MOMA – Museum of Modern Art, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Retrospective’, New York NY (Travelling Exhibition)
1981
Renaissance Society, University of Chicago, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Femme Maison’, Chicago IL
1980
Xavier Fourcade Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Sculpture: The Middle Years 1955-1970’, New York NY
Max Hutchinson Gallery, ‘The Iconography of Louise Bourgeois’, New York NY
1979
Xavier Fourcade Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Sculpture 1941-1953. Plus One New Piece’, New York NY
Berkeley Art Museum, University of California, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Matrix / Berkeley 17’, Berkeley CA
1978
Xavier Fourcade Gallery, ‘Triangles. New Sculpture and Drawings’, New York NY
Hamilton Gallery of Contemporary Art, ‘New Work’ (included a performance ‘A Banquet/A Fashion Show of Body Parts’ in conjunction with the piece ‘Confrontation’), New York NY
1974
112 Greene Street Gallery, ‘Sculpture 1970-1974’, New York NY
1964
Stable Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Recent Sculpture’, New York NY
Rose Fried Gallery, ‘Recent Drawings by Louise Bourgeois’, New York NY
1959
Andrew D. White Art Museum, Cornell University, ‘Sculpture by Louise Bourgeois’, Ithaca NY
1953
Peridot Gallery, ‘Louise Bourgeois. Drawings for Sculpture and Sculpture’, New York NY
Allan Frumkin Gallery, Chicago IL
1950
Peridot Gallery, ‘Sculptures’, New York NY
1949
Peridot Gallery, ‘Late Work. 1947-1949: Standing Figures’, New York NY
1947
Norlyst Gallery, ‘Paintings’, New York NY
1945
Bertha Schaefer Gallery, ‘Paintings by Louise Bourgeois’, New York NY
General Information
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public.
They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. With the exception of the atrium and library, the galleries in the East Building will remain closed until late fall 2016 for Master Facilities Plan and renovations.
For information call (202) 737-4215 or visit the Gallery’s Web site at www.nga.gov.
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