Louise Bourgeois
French abstract-expressionist sculptorEarly Years / Family Life
Louise Bourgeois was born into a family of tapestry restorative weavers.Education
1932-1935 / Sorbonne – studied mathematics (changed focus to art at age 25)1936-1937 / Ecole du Louvre
Académie des Beaux-Arts
Académie de la Grande Chaumière
Académie Julian
1937-1938 / Atelier Fernand Léger
Art Students League in New York
Influences
The influx of European Surrealist artists who immigrated to the USA post-WWIIThemes in Artwork
her childhoodrelationship with her parents
sexuality
innocence
Timeline
- 1911 / born on December 25 in Paris, France
- 1932 to 1935 / studies mathematics at Sorbonne (changed focus to art at age 25)
- 1936 to 1937 / studies at Ecole du Louvre
- 1936 to 1938 / studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France
- 1937 to 1938 / Pupil of Fernand Leger
- 1938 / emigrates to the USA (New York City)
- 1938 / continues studies at Art Students League in New York
- 1938 / marries American husband (art historian Robert Goldwater)
- 1945 / first solo exhibition, held at the Bertha Schaefer Gallery in New York
- 1947 / conceives and writes her artbook, The Puritan
- 1947 / produces an artbook entitled He Disappeared into Complete Silence
- 1949 / sculpture is first shown, at the Peridot Gallery in New York
- 1980 / award for Outstanding Achievement in the Visual Arts from the Women's Caucus for Art
- 1981 / Elected Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Boston, MA
- 1982 / retrospective show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City
- 1983 / Elected Member of American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, NY
- 1983 / Named Officier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, by Jack Lang, French Minister of Culture
- 1987 / Gold Medal of Honor for Excellence in Art, National Arts Club, New York
- 1987 / Named Fellow for Life at Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- 1989 / “Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement”, College Art Association
- 1989 / “Neptune Award for the Arts”, Snug Harbor, Staten Island, NY
- 1989 / begins creating The Puritan
- 1991 / Lifetime Achievement Award, International Sculpture Center, Washington D.C. (first recipient)
- 1991 / Awarded the Grand Prix National de Sculpture by the French Ministry of Culture
- 1993 / Mayor’s Awards for Art & Culture, New York City
- 1993 / represents the United States at the Venice Biennale
- 1995 / The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo and The Hakone Open-Air Museum, Kanagawa-ken, Japan, 1995 Biennial Award and Purchase prize for ARCH OF HYSTERIA
- 1996 / The Puritan is completed
- 1997 / National Medal of Arts presented by President Clinton at the White House
- 1998 / Academician of the National Academy, New York, Sculpture Class
- 1999 / Awarded the Golden Lion, for a living master of contemporary art, by La Biennale di Venezia
- 1999 / Praemium Imperiale Award in the sculpture category from the Japan Art Association
- 2003 / Wolf Prize in the Arts (Painting and Sculpture), Wolf Foundation, Israel
- 2006 / National Organization For Women, Washington D.C. “The 2006 Intrepid Award”
Examples of Work
Maman / 1999 / bronze, marble / 365 x 351 x 403 inches
Janus Fleuri / 1968 / bronze, golden patina / 10.1 x 12.5 x 8.4 inches
Blind Man's Bluff / 1984 / bronze, silver nitrate patina / 17.5 x 15 x 15.5 inches