
Louise BourgeoisAmerican, 1911–2010May one see it?
New York, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
1929–1939 · Workplace
Paris
1930s
Léger tells her she is a sculptor, not a painter
Bourgeois kept studying art in classes that needed translators for English-speaking students, since translators paid no tuition. In one such class Fernand Léger saw her work and told her she was a sculptor, not a painter.
1938–1939
Moves to New York with her husband
With her husband, who taught at New York University, Bourgeois moved to the United States and settled in New York City. There she continued her education at the Art Students League under Vaclav Vytlacil while also producing sculptures and prints.
1938–2010 · Workplace
New York City
4 July 1940
Son born: Jean-Louis Bourgeois
1940s
A turn to sculpture under the influence of the Surrealists
In the 1940s Bourgeois concentrated on sculpture, and she was strongly influenced by the influx of European Surrealist artists who emigrated to the United States after the Second World War. At first her sculptures consisted of groups of abstract, organic forms, often carved from wood.