This book, authorized by Louise Bourgeois herself, concentrates on her latest work but also documents the life and art of this exceptional woman. Born in Paris in 1911, she moved in 1939 to New York, where she still lives and works. Without exaggerating, Louise Bourgeois can be described as the most important and influential sculptress of this century. Louise Bourgeois: The Secret of the Cells is the first publication to present an introduction to the stylistic diversity and scope of Bourgeois' work within the context of 20th-century sculpture. This volume focuses on her installations, which she calls cells . For the first time, all 27 cells - a cycle which Bourgeois has now declared complete - are depicted in both full-page and detailed illustrations, as well as being catalogued according to their component parts. The comprehensive narrative on Louise Bourgeois' fascinating life - the most detailed and extensive to date - is documented in over 100 photographs from the artist's own archive, many of which have never been published before. These range from her youth in Paris, her student years at the art academy under Ferdinand Leger, and her experiences with the leading artists of the New York School in the 40s and 50s, up to her famous performance, The Confrontation , in 1978. In 1982 the Museum of Modern Art honoured Bourgeois in a grand retrospective of her work; in 1992 her installation Precious Liquids caused an international sensation at documenta IX. Her radical re-evaluation of the medium of sculpture, particularly evident in her unusual and unparalleled work of the last 10 years, calls for a thorough review of art in modern times.