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Louise Bourgeois

Louise Bourgeois

Louise Bourgeois was born in Paris in 1911. She studied art at various schools there, including the Ecole du Louvre, Académie des Beaux-Arts, Académie Julian, and Atelier Fernand Léger. In 1938, she emigrated to the United States and continued her studies at the Art Students League in New York. Bourgeois’s work, in addition to being displayed in the collections of most major museums around the world, hangs in the apartment of the magazine’s late editor, George Plimpton, in the form of her Paris Review print.
Louise Bourgeois’s work had such an impact on The Paris Review staff that the art editor remembers exactly what she wore to their first meeting: “I settled on a black knitted tube skirt that went to my ankles, flat black shoes, and a black v-neck sweater with a tan three-quarter length rain coat. I was hesitant because although the rain coat had been fashionable a few–seven–years earlier, it was now getting a little threaded at the cuffs and neck. Oh well, it was the best I could do.” All anxiety dissipated, however, when Bourgeois arrived at the door wearing an identical coat. The meeting was a success. After discussing the details of the collaboration, Bourgeois showed the editor to the door, thanked her, and asked her where she bought her skirt.

Art