At MoMA in Midtown, NYC, Brancusi Brings His Paris Studio to New York

The Museum of Modern Art is showing "Brancusi: The Artist and His Studio," an exhibition that approaches the Romanian-born sculptor Constantin Brancusi (1876–1947) through the place where he worked rather than through finished objects alone.

According to MoMA, when Brancusi first saw the New York skyline in 1926, he exclaimed, "Why, it is my studio." His actual studio stood on impasse Ronsin in Paris. He lived and worked there, entertained friends and clients, and displayed his sculptures. It was also where he made some of his most groundbreaking pieces, redefining sculpture through radically simple forms.

The show's draw is its loans. For the first time in decades, rarely lent sculptures from the studio have traveled to New York. They are joined by a rich selection of photographs, films, hand-carved furniture and pedestals, tools and archival materials, so visitors see the sculptures alongside the objects and images that surrounded them in the atelier.

MoMA also runs a Member Early Hour on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., giving members and their guests exclusive access to select galleries. This month, the Brancusi exhibition is the one open early.

The exhibition is at MoMA's main building, 11 West 53 Street in Midtown. Other November programs at the museum include Na Mira's first solo museum show in New York, "NO SMOKING," a media installation opening November 14 in the Kravis Studio, and "Sundays with Steven," six double features chosen by Steven Spielberg that run through December 6.