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Stamp of Memories I

Printer Harlan & Weaver, Inc. American
1993
Not on view
Stamp of Memories I derives from the print Ste Sebastienne (1990), in which Bourgeois created a mythical female version of the martyred Saint Sebastian. As the print progressed, she added a menacing cat’s face and three eggs, perhaps alluding to her three sons, and covered the figure’s body and hair with circular stamping. Acting as a kind of skin or protective armor, the stamp contains the interlocking letters “LB.” Although "LB" corresponds to the artist’s initials and thus can be read as a kind of signature, this particular stamp belonged to her father, Louis Bourgeois. With this work, Bourgeois sought to reject her father’s stamp and all that it symbolized. In 1994, she produced Stamp of Memories II, which features the same image of Sebastienne, but with her body covered in the less ornate block letters of the artist's own stamp.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Stamp of Memories I
  • Artist: Louise Bourgeois (American, Paris 1911–2010 New York)
  • Printer: Harlan & Weaver, Inc. (American)
  • Publisher: Peter Blum Edition
  • Date: 1993
  • Medium: Drypoint and metal stamp
  • Dimensions: sheet: 25 3/8 x 17 1/8 in. (64.5 x 43.5cm)
    plate: 9 13/16 x 16 7/8 in. (24.9 x 42.8 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Stewart S. MacDermott Fund, 1999
  • Object Number: 1999.128
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Hanging Weeds, Louise Bourgeois American, Engraving
Hanging Weeds
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Storm at Saint Honoré (State VIII), Louise Bourgeois American, Engraving and drypoint on paper, A.P. 9/25
Storm at Saint Honoré (State VIII)
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Untitled, Louise Bourgeois American, Silicone rubber
Untitled
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The Sweet Smell of Indigo, Louise Bourgeois American, Watercolor, charcoal, and opaque watercolor on paper
The Sweet Smell of Indigo
Louise Bourgeois
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