Mortise

1938–2010 · Workplace

New York City

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.

1949

First exhibition of her sculptures

In 1949 the first exhibition of Bourgeois’s sculptures was held.

1950s

The turn from wood to marble, plaster and bronze

Working with the American Abstract Artists group, Bourgeois moved from wood and upright structures to marble, plaster and bronze as she investigated fear, vulnerability and loss of control. The transition was a turning point.

1951

Her father’s death

Bourgeois’s father died in 1951. To her he represented injury and war, the aggrandizement of himself and the belittlement of others and, above all, betrayal.

1951

Becomes an American citizen

Soon after her father’s death, in 1951, Bourgeois became an American citizen.