The portfolio or suite of images was adopted by most of the leading avant-garde artists in the early part of this century. This format has continued to provide artists with a vital means of working through a body of ideas. The ten colour etchings of 'La Genèse' or Genesis were executed during the period of Dickson's pregnancy in 1964-65. Their symbolism evolved in the sequence in which they finally appeared in the portfolio, beginning with 'L'Origine' (In the Beginning) and concluding with 'Le Septième Jour' (The Seventh Day).