Constantin Brâncuși Young Bird Paris 1928

  • MoMA, Floor 5, 500

Brâncuși often engaged with a particular motif time and again, producing multiple variants of a given subject, but Young Bird is an exception. Only two other Young Bird works exist, a 1925 marble on which Brâncuși based this bronze and a larger marble made in 1929. Young Bird stands on an original pedestal designed by the artist for this sculpture, which comprises a limestone cube and an abstract cylindrically shaped wooden base, whose repetitive forms call to mind Brâncuși's Endless Column.

Gallery label from Constantin Brâncuși Sculpture, 2018
Medium
Bronze 16 x 8 1/4 x 12" (40.5 x 21 x 30.4 cm), on a two-part pedestal of limestone 9 1/4" (23.5 cm) high, and oak 23 3/4" (60.3 cm) high (carved by the artist)
Dimensions
16 × 8 1/4 × 12" (40.6 × 21 × 30.5 cm) Other (stone): 9 1/4" (23.5 cm) Pedestal (overall): 36 × 13 1/2 × 14" (91.4 × 34.3 × 35.6 cm)
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William A. M. Burden
Object number
498.1964
Copyright
© Succession Brancusi - All rights reserved (ARS) 2018
Department
Painting and Sculpture

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Provenance Research Project

This work is included in the Provenance Research Project, which investigates the ownership history of works in MoMA's collection.

The artist [1]; acquired by Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, 1955 [2]; sold to William A. M. Burden, New York, 1955 [3]; Gift of William A. M. and Margaret Burden, New York, 1964 (donors retaining a life interest).
[1] On loan from the artist to the exhibition Brancusi, Brummer Gallery, November 17, 1933-January 13, 1934, no. 11; exhibited at the Rumanian Pavilion of the World Fair, New York, 1939.
[2] Collection files, Department of Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
[3] Collection files, Department of Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

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