Bird in Space (Constantin Brâncuși) and the 1927 customs case

Bird in Space is a series of abstract bronze sculptures by Constantin Brâncuși, examples of which are in MoMA’s collection. In 1927 a Brâncuși Bird in Space was the subject of a U.S. customs legal case in New York that ruled abstract sculpture could be classified as art for customs purposes, creating an important legal precedent. MoMA’s exhibitions have highlighted both the work’s formal importance and its role in that legal history.