Another shot.
His story is true history porn. Born a poor peasant in Romania, he would break world auction sales records twice, while having a Princess (great-grandniece of Emperor Napoleon) model for him, and changing the definition of art in a legal battle with the US government. Currently, he has 2 entries in the list of most expensive sculptures.
Brancusi grew up close to Romania's Carpathian Mountains, an area known for its rich tradition of folk crafts, particularly woodcarving. His parents were poor peasants who earned a meager living through back-breaking labor; from the age of seven, he herded the family's flock of sheep.
In 1903, Brâncuși traveled to Paris where he was invited to enter the workshop of Auguste Rodin, the most prominent sculptor of that time. He left the Rodin studio after only two months, saying, "Nothing can grow under big trees."
In 1913 Brâncuși's work was displayed in the first exhibition in the U.S. of modern art, the Armory Show.
In 1920, he developed a notorious reputation with the entry of "Princess X" in the Salon. The phallic shape of the piece scandalized the Salon, and despite Brâncuși's explanation that it was an anonymous portrait, removed it from the exhibition. "Princess X" was revealed to be Princess Marie Bonaparte.
In 1926-27, Bird in Space was the subject of a court battle over its taxation by U.S. Customs. This was the first court decision that accepted that non-representational sculpture could be considered art.
At his death Brâncuși left 1200 photographs and 215 sculptures. He bequeathed part of his collection to the French state, after it was refused by the Romanian Communist government, on condition that his workshop be rebuilt as it was on the day he died. This reconstruction of his studio, adjacent to the Pompidou Centre, is open to the public. Brâncuși's studio inspired Swedish architect Klas Anshelm's design of the Malmö Konsthall, which opened in 1975.
