The Museum of Modern Art presents Brancusi: The Artist and His Studio, a major exhibition surveying Constantin Brancusi’s (1876–1957) sculptural achievements through the lens of his Paris studio at impasse Ronsin. For more than 40 years, from 1916 until his death, this studio served as a dynamic environment in which Brancusi lived, worked, entertained friends and clients, and exhibited his sculptures. In this singular context, Brancusi blurred boundaries between abstraction and representation, pedestal and object, and a sculpture and its surroundings. The presentation, spanning the Museum’s entire sixth floor, will offer visitors a once-in-a-generation opportunity to see rarely lent sculptures, along with Brancusi’s hand-carved furniture and bases, films, photographs, tools, and archival materials from Centre Pompidou’s Atelier Brancusi.
The exhibition is organized by Anne Umland, guest curator, and Mia Matthias, Assistant Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture, with Samantha Small, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Painting and Sculpture. We are grateful for the collaboration of Ariane Coulondre, Chief Curator, Department of Modern Collections, and Valérie Loth, Associate Curator, Department of Prints and Drawings, Centre Pompidou – Musée national d’art moderne, who organized Brancusi: Art Is Just Beginning at Centre Pompidou in 2024. This exhibition is presented with the exceptional support of Centre Pompidou, which permanently houses the Atelier Brancusi in Paris.
IMAGES
Constantin Brancusi. Self-portrait in the studio with Endless Columns I–IV, Fish (1930), Leda (1926). c. 1934. Glass negative, 5 7/8 × 3 15/16″ (15 × 10 cm). Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée national d’art moderne-Centre de création industrielle, Constantin Brancusi Bequest, 1957. PH 854. Digital Image © CNAC/MNAM, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY. © Succession Brancusi – All rights reserved (Adagp) 2026
Constantin Brancusi. View of the studio: Princess X (1915–16), Bird in Space (1927, bronze), Leda (1926), Endless Columns I–III (1925, 1926, and c. 1928), Exotic Plant (1923–24). c. 1929. Gelatin silver print, 11 3/4 × 9 3/ (29.8 × 23.8 cm). Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée national d’art moderne-Centre de création industrielle, Constantin Brancusi Bequest, 1957. PH 79 A. Digital Image © CNAC/MNAM, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY. © Succession Brancusi – All rights reserved (Adagp) 2026
Constantin Brancusi. Portrait of Nancy Cunard (Jeune fille sophistiquée). 1928. Patinated plaster, 21 13/16 × 5 7/8 × 8 5/8″ (55.5 × 15 × 22 cm), on a three-part pedestal of plaster 5 1/2″ (14 cm) × 5 7/8″ (15 cm) in diameter, and two oak sections 6 5/16 × 14 15/16 × 15 3/8″ (16 × 38 × 39 cm) and 40 3/16 × 11 13/16 × 11 13/16″ (102 × 30 × 30 cm), overall 46 7/16 × 14 15/16 × 15 3/8″ (118 × 38 × 39 cm). Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée national d’art moderne-Centre de création industrielle, Constantin Brancusi Bequest, 1957. Digital Image © CNAC/MNAM, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY. Photo: Adam Rzepka. © Succession Brancusi – All rights reserved (Adagp) 2026
Constantin Brancusi. Exotic Plant. 1923-1924. Oak, 37 13/16 × 16 15/16 × 16 15/16″ (96 × 43 × 43 cm), on limestone base 18 11/16 × 14 15/16 × 14 15/16″ (47.5 × 38 × 38 cm), overall 56 1/2 × 16 15/16 × 16 15/16″ (143.5 × 43 × 43 cm). Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée national d’art moderne-Centre de création industrielle, Constantin Brancusi Bequest, 1957. Digital Image © CNAC/MNAM, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY. Photo: Georges Meguerditchian. © Succession Brancusi – All rights reserved (Adagp) 2026
Constantin Brancusi. Timidity. 1917. Limestone, 14 3/8 × 9 13/16 × 8 11/16″ (36.5 × 25 × 22 cm), on two-part oak base (Cat-Caryatid), upper base 10 1/4 × 11 7/16 × 23 5/8″ (26 × 29 × 60 cm) and lower 39 × 11 5/8 × 22 7/16″ (99 × 29.5 × 57 cm), overall 63 9/16 × 11 5/8 × 23 5/8″ (161.5 × 29.5 × 60 cm). Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée national d’art moderne-Centre de création industrielle, Constantin Brancusi Bequest, 1957. Digital Image © CNAC/MNAM, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY. Photo: Adam Rzepka © Succession Brancusi – All rights reserved (Adagp) 2026
Constantin Brancusi. Leda. 1926. Polished bronze 20 7/8 × 31 1/8 × 9 7/16″ (53 × 79 × 24 cm) on nickel silver disk 3/16″ (0.5 cm) × 36 5/8″ (93 cm) in diameter, black marble cylindrical base 7 1/16 × 7 1/16″ (18 × 18 cm), and black granite cruciform base (13 3/4 × 20 1/2 × 20 1/2″ (35 × 52 × 52 cm), overall 43 15/16 × 36 5/8 × 36 5/8″ (106.5 × 93 × 93 cm). Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée national d’art moderne-Centre de création industrielle, Constantin Brancusi Bequest, 1957. Digital Image © CNAC/MNAM, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY. Photo: Bertrand Prévost. © Succession Brancusi – All rights reserved (Adagp) 2026
Constantin Brancusi. Newborn II. 1927. Stainless steel, 7 1/16 × 9 3/4 × 6 11/16″ (18 × 24.8 × 17 cm), on unpolished stainless-steel disk 3/16″ (0.5 cm) × 17 11/16″ (45 cm) in diameter, and partially stained walnut base 31 1/2 × 9 13/16 × 15 3/8″ (80 × 25 × 39 cm), overall 38 3/4 × 17 11/16 × 17 11/16″ (98.5 × 45 × 45 cm). Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée national d’art moderne-Centre de création industrielle, Constantin Brancusi Bequest, 1957. Digital Image © CNAC/MNAM, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY. Photo: Adam Rzepka. © Succession Brancusi – All rights reserved (Adagp) 2026
Constantin Brancusi. Sleeping Muse. 1910. Polished bronze, 6 1/2 × 10 1/4 × 7 1/16″ (16.5 × 26 × 18 cm). Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée national d’art moderne-Centre de création industrielle, Purchase, 1947. Digital Image © CNAC/MNAM, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY Photo: Philippe Migeat © Succession Brancusi – All rights reserved (Adagp) 2026
Constantin Brancusi. Endless Column. version I, 1918. Oak, 6′ 8″ × 9 7/8″ × 9 5/8″ (203.2 × 25.1 × 24.5 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Mary Sisler, 1983. Photo: Thomas Griesel © Succession Brancusi – All rights reserved (Adagp) 2026
Constantin Brancusi. Bird in Space. 1928. Bronze, 54 × 8 1/2 × 6 1/2″ (137.2 × 21.6 × 16.5 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. © Succession Brancusi – All rights reserved (Adagp) 2026
Installation view of Brancusi: The Artist and His Studio on view at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, from October 25, 2026, through February 27, 2027. Photo by Jonathan Dorado © The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Installation view of Brancusi: The Artist and His Studio on view at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, from October 25, 2026, through February 27, 2027. Photo by Jonathan Dorado © The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Installation view of Brancusi: The Artist and His Studio on view at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, from October 25, 2026, through February 27, 2027. Photo by Jonathan Dorado © The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Installation view of Brancusi: The Artist and His Studio on view at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, from October 25, 2026, through February 27, 2027. Photo by Jonathan Dorado © The Museum of Modern Art, New York
