Created in 1947, this intimate drawing by Louise Bourgeois emerges alongside her seminal Personnages series—totemic, semi-abstract figures that mark her first fully mature body of work after relocating to New York. Rooted in memory, displacement, and emotional tension, these forms operate as stand-ins for absent or complicated relationships, shaped by homesickness and unresolved familial dynamics. Balancing abstraction with deeply personal symbolism, Bourgeois fuses bodily presence with psychological space, anticipating the charged installations of her later career.

Developed between 1945 and 1955, the Personnages were first presented in a solo exhibition at Peridot Gallery in 1950. These vertical, totemic forms embody specific figures from the artist’s life—present, absent, or imagined—giving sculptural form to memory and emotional attachment.

The drawing on view at TEFAF New York reflects the anthropomorphic presence at the core of this body of work, while emphasizing the pole-like bases integral to many of the sculptures. Mounted on these supports, the figures could pivot or turn, shifting orientation within space. Bourgeois envisioned them as participants in a silent exchange—able to face one another, withdraw, or realign—creating a dynamic psychological environment rather than a fixed composition.