Lithograph in colors on Arches paper
USA, 1999
Louise Bourgeois, (1911 – 2001) – French/American sculptor
Published by the artist
Printed by Solo Press, New York with blindstamp in lower right corner
Artist initialed in lower right corner
Numbered ‘AP 12’ aside from an edition of 100
Provenance: Private Collection, New York
Image dimensions: 23 x 15 in; 58.4 x 38.1 cm
Full sheet dimensions: 29 x 20 1/8 in; 73.y x 51.2 cm
Excellent condition
Estimate: $2,600-$4,500

The title of this print refers to a Japanese legend about an Ainu tree. The Ainu were an indigenous people in Japan in the 12th century. The legend tells of an older Japanese couple, man and wife, felling a pine tree in front of, “ancients both noble and ignoble,” who have had no luck of trying to do same. First the older man chops the tree with an ancient axe. He achieves a first cut but the tree does not fall. Then his wife completes the act and fells the tree with her reaping hook. In the cloud of fire that ensues, the couple get lofted up to heaven. The Japanese moral and feminist aspect of it must have inspired Bourgeois to make this image, "let not the younger laugh at the elder, for even the very old people can teach their juniors a great deal, even in so simple a matter as felling trees."

Louise Bourgeois (American/French, 1911-2010)

Widely regarded as one of the most important female artists in history, Louise Bourgeois is known for her psychologically-charged abstract sculptures, drawings and prints. Born in Paris, Bourgeois studied at École du Louvre and École des Beaux-Arts before moving to New York and studying painting at the Art Students League. Bourgeois began to produce wooden sculptures in the late 1940s before creating works in non-traditional media in the 1950s. As her work became more sexually explicit she began to receive international recognition due to the rise of feminism and postmodernism. Bourgeois exhibited at the documenta 9 in 1992, and the Venice Biennale in 1993. In 1999, Bourgeois was the first artist commissioned to fill the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, which held a large retrospective in honor of her 95th birthday. Her work was also exhibited at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

Condition

In overall excellent condition.

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