A creepy-crawly bronze sculpture sold for $32.8 million at auction in New York earlier this summer. “Spider” by French-American sculptor Louise Bourgeois smashed the auction record for a sculpture by a female artist.

If that name rings a bell, it’s for a good reason: another one of Bourgeois’ spider sculptures graced the UNC campus for several years. But no, it’s not the same exact sculpture.

“Crouching Spider,” which is slightly shorter than the sculpture sold at auction, came to Chapel Hill in August 2018. The stainless steel and bronze piece was one of two of Bourgeois’ on display at Carolina: “Eye Benches I” was installed in front of Phillips Hall, just across Cameron Avenue from “Crouching Spider.” The works came to Chapel Hill through an initiative by Arts Everywhere UNC and a loan from the Easton Foundation.

The two pieces were on display at UNC for what was supposed to be a one-year loan. They each remained on campus, however, through the summer of 2021 due to the COVID pandemic.

Bourgeois created “Crouching Spider” in 2003 as a tribute to her mother, and it’s one of a series of several spider sculptures she made, including the $32.8 million work. According to CNN, Bourgeois — who died in 2010 at age 98 — didn’t begin creating her spider series until she was in her 80s. “Spider,” created in 1996, was previously owned by Brazil’s Fundação Itaú before being sold.

So, where is “Crouching Spider” now? The sculpture is currently on display at the Dia Art Foundation in New York.

 

Featured image via The Daily Tar Heel/Janet Ayala

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