Details

Provenance

Alexandre Istrati Galerie Beyeler, Basel (acquired from the above in 1987) Mitsukoshi France SA, Paris (acquired from the above on 29 June 1990) de Sarthe Gallery, USA Private Collection, USA (acquired from the above in 2004) Yares Gallery, New York (acquired from the above in 2022) Acquired in 2022 by the present owner

Literature

Ezra Pound, “Brancusi,” The Little Review , vol. VIII, no. 1, Autumn 1921, pls. 17 and 24, another cast illustrated “Brancusi,” This Quarter , vol. I, no. 1, Paris, Spring 1925, pl. 27, another cast illustrated Carl Einstein, Die Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts , Berlin, 1926, pl. 525, another cast illustrated Carl Einstein, Die Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts , Berlin, 1931, pl. 618, another cast illustrated Vasile Georgescu Paleolog, C. Brancusi , Bucharest, 1947, p. 39, another cast illustrated Robert Payne, “Constantin Brancusi,” World Review , vol. 8, October 1949, p. 64, another cast illustrated Ionel Jianou, Brancusi , New York, 1963, pl. 46, another cast illustrated Sidney Geist, Brancusi: A Study of the Sculpture , New York, 1968, p. 69, other casts illustrated Athena T. Spear, Brancusi’s Birds , New York, 1969, pls. 13 and 14, other casts illustrated Exh. Cat., New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Philadelphia Museum of Art and Art Institute of Chicago, Constantin Brancusi 1876-1957, A Retrospective Exhibition , 1969, p. 95, another cast illustrated Sidney Geist, “The Birds. A Critique of the Catalog of a Recent Brancusi Monograph,” Artforum , November 1970 Sidney Geist, Brancusi: The Sculpture and Drawings , New York, 1975, no. 125, p. 91, another cast illustrated Exh. Cat., Paris, Musée national d’art moderne, Brancusi photographe , 1977, pls. 15 and 27, another cast illustrated in photographs of the artist’s studio Ionel Jianou, Brancusi , Paris, 1982, pl. 46, another cast illustrated Pontus Hulten, Natalia Dumitresco and Alexandre Istrati, Brancusi , Paris and Stuttgart, 1986, no. 108d, no. T2, p. 294, listed; p. 294, another cast illustrated Radu Varia, Brancusi , New York, 1986, p. 45, another cast illustrated in a photograph of an exhibition; pp. 233-35, other casts illustrated in colour Eric Shanes, Constantin Brancusi , New York, 1989, no. 31, p. 36, another cast illustrated in colour Exh. Cat., Paris, Didier Imbert Fine Art, Brancusi: Photo Reflexion , 1991, fig. 4, another cast illustrated Margherita Andreotti, “Brancusi’s Golden Bird: A New Species of Modern Sculpture,” Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies , vol. 19, no. 2, 1993, another cast illustrated on the cover and pp. 135, 137, 140 and 143; pp. 144-45, 147, 152 and n.p., another cast illustrated in photographs of the artist’s studio and of exhibitions Dan Grigorescu, Brancusi and his Century , Bucharest, 1994, p. 28; pl 49, another cast illustrated Sandra Miller, Constantin Brancusi, A Survey of His Work , Oxford, 1995, no. 112, p. 152, another cast illustrated Exh. Cat., Paris, Centre Georges Pompidou, Constantin Brancusi , 1995, p. 172, another cast illustrated in a photograph of the artist’s studio; p. 173, another cast illustrated Exh. Cat., Paris, Centre Georges Pompidou, L’Atelier Brancusi , 1997, p. 192, another cast illustrated in an exhibition photograph Friedrich Teja Bach, Constantin Brancusi. Metamorphosen plastischer Form , 2004, p. 397, listed; pp. 456-57, other casts illustrated Exh. Cat., Venice, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Brancusi: The White Work , 2005, no. 63, p. 113, another cast illustrated in a photograph by the artist Jérôme Neutres, Brancusi New York, 1913-2013 , New York, 2013, pp. 54-55, another cast illustrated in a photograph of the artist’s studio

Catalog summary

Constantin Brancusi 1876 - 1957 L'Oiseau d'or inscribed Brancusi, numbered 2/5 and with the foundry mark Susse Fondeur Paris bronze on a marble base height (including base): 126.5 cm. 49¾ in. Conceived in 1919 and cast by Susse Fondeur from the Istrati-Dumitresco plaster in 1981. Two examples of this model were cast during the artist’s lifetime, and a further 5 were cast beginning in 1971 by the artist’s heirs, Alexandre Istrati and Natalia Dumitresco, from a copy of the original plaster. Provenance Alexandre Istrati Galerie Beyeler, Basel (acquired from the above in 1987) Mitsukoshi France SA, Paris (acquired from the above on 29 June 1990) de Sarthe Gallery, USA Private Collection, USA (acquired from the above in 2004) Yares Gallery, New York (acquired from the above in 2022) Acquired in 2022 by the present owner Literature Ezra Pound, “Brancusi,” The Little Review , vol. VIII, no. 1, Autumn 1921, pls. 17 and 24, another cast illustrated “Brancusi,” This Quarter , vol. I, no. 1, Paris, Spring 1925, pl. 27, another cast illustrated Carl Einstein, Die Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts , Berlin, 1926, pl. 525, another cast illustrated Carl Einstein, Die Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts , Berlin, 1931, pl. 618, another cast illustrated Vasile Georgescu Paleolog, C. Brancusi , Bucharest, 1947, p. 39, another cast illustrated Robert Payne, “Constantin Brancusi,” World Review , vol. 8, October 1949, p. 64, another cast illustrated Ionel Jianou, Brancusi , New York, 1963, pl. 46, another cast illustrated Sidney Geist, Brancusi: A Study of the Sculpture , New York, 1968, p. 69, other casts illustrated Athena T. Spear, Brancusi’s Birds , New York, 1969, pls. 13 and 14, other casts illustrated Exh. Cat., New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Philadelphia Museum of Art and Art Institute of Chicago, Constantin Brancusi 1876-1957, A Retrospective Exhibition , 1969, p. 95, another cast illustrated Sidney Geist, “The Birds. A Critique of the Catalog of a Recent Brancusi Monograph,” Artforum , November 1970 Sidney Geist, Brancusi: The Sculpture and Drawings , New York, 1975, no. 125, p. 91, another cast illustrated Exh. Cat., Paris, Musée national d’art moderne, Brancusi photographe , 1977, pls. 15 and 27, another cast illustrated in photographs of the artist’s studio Ionel Jianou, Brancusi , Paris, 1982, pl. 46, another cast illustrated Pontus Hulten, Natalia Dumitresco and Alexandre Istrati, Brancusi , Paris and Stuttgart, 1986, no. 108d, no. T2, p. 294, listed; p. 294, another cast illustrated Radu Varia, Brancusi , New York, 1986, p. 45, another cast illustrated in a photograph of an exhibition; pp. 233-35, other casts illustrated in colour Eric Shanes, Constantin Brancusi , New York, 1989, no. 31, p. 36, another cast illustrated in colour Exh. Cat., Paris, Didier Imbert Fine Art, Brancusi: Photo Reflexion , 1991, fig. 4, another cast illustrated Margherita Andreotti, “Brancusi’s Golden Bird: A New Species of Modern Sculpture,” Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies , vol. 19, no. 2, 1993, another cast illustrated on the cover and pp. 135, 137, 140 and 143; pp. 144-45, 147, 152 and n.p., another cast illustrated in photographs of the artist’s studio and of exhibitions Dan Grigorescu, Brancusi and his Century , Bucharest, 1994, p. 28; pl 49, another cast illustrated Sandra Miller, Constantin Brancusi, A Survey of His Work , Oxford, 1995, no. 112, p. 152, another cast illustrated Exh. Cat., Paris, Centre Georges Pompidou, Constantin Brancusi , 1995, p. 172, another cast illustrated in a photograph of the artist’s studio; p. 173, another cast illustrated Exh. Cat., Paris, Centre Georges Pompidou, L’Atelier Brancusi , 1997, p. 192, another cast illustrated in an exhibition photograph Friedrich Teja Bach, Constantin Brancusi. Metamorphosen plastischer Form , 2004, p. 397, listed; pp. 456-57, other casts illustrated Exh. Cat., Venice, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Brancusi: The White Work , 2005, no. 63, p. 113, another cast illustrated in a photograph by the artist Jérôme Neutres, Brancusi New York, 1913-2013 , New York, 2013, pp. 54-55, another cast illustrated in a photograph of the artist’s studio