Louise Bourgeois

Louise Bourgeois was born in Paris in 1911. She learned to knit and paint at the tapestry repair workshop run by her mother, Josephine, who suffered from ill health, Louise having to look after her for long periods of time. Josephine died when Louise was 22, her death being a source of inspiration for her daughter’s creativity. Louise studied art and became a gifted painter and engraver. When Fernand Léger took a look at her drawings, he presciently told her she was a sculptor, not a painter, encouraging her to try her hand at three-dimensional objects. After moving to New York, Bourgeois embarked on a six-decade career in art. She is one of the world’s most renowned female sculptors.