this is the obituary that appeared in the Economist. A little over 5 years ago an exhibition of some of her work was held at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham. It was such a thrill to see the great variety in her output. And it was such an inspiration to know that she was still very much an active artist at age 92. It was inevitable that she would leave us someday but what a legacy – and what an interesting life she lead. She was born in Paris on Christmas Day 1911. She studied mathematics at the Sorbonne before she turned to art. First she was a painter but later she turned to sculpture. She married an American art historian, moved to New York and lived there for the rest of her life. Her work wasn’t widely recognized until the 1980’s when a retrospective was held at the New York Museum of Modern Art. I mentioned the Exhibition in Dublin, some of her work can also be seen at the Tate Modern in London and also in Seattle as well as other venues around the world. She was an activist, particularly in recent years, for gay and lesbian rights and the freedom to marry. She continued to produce artwork up until the week before she died, of heart failure.
One of her most famous works was a mammoth spider which she labelled Maman. 
This is in the Guggenheim in Bilbao.
I quote the following from Wikipedia:
The Spider is an ode to my mother. She was my best friend. Like a spider, my mother was a weaver. My family was in the business of tapestry restoration, and my mother was in charge of the workshop. Like spiders, my mother was very clever. Spiders are friendly presences that eat mosquitoes. We know that mosquitoes spread diseases and are therefore unwanted. So, spiders are helpful and protective, just like my mother.
– Louise Bourgeois[22]
Janet's thread 