Brancusi's Paris studio, taken apart and rebuilt, shapes a New York show

You can see Constantin Brancusi's sculpture through the lens of his Paris studio in New York from 25 October. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) runs the show until 27 February 2027, just over four months. It fills the sixth floor. Brancusi used the studio, at impasse Ronsin, from 1916 until his death.

Here is what the museum lists for visitors.

• Rarely lent sculptures
• Hand-carved furniture and bases
• Films, photographs and tools
• Archive material from the Atelier Brancusi at Centre Pompidou in Paris

Anne Umland is guest curator. Ariane Coulondre, chief curator of modern collections in Paris, also worked on the show. Mia Matthias and Samantha Small, from the painting and sculpture department in New York, join them. Hyundai Card is the presenting partner.

In the museum's words, the show is "a once-in-a-generation opportunity to see rarely lent sculptures".

A studio left to a nation

Brancusi lived and worked at 8 impasse Ronsin in Paris for 41 years, until his death in 1957. He added the studios at number 11 in 1927. In 1956 he bequeathed (left in a will) his whole studio to the French state. The gift covered finished works, tools, books, records and photographs. His condition was that the studio be rebuilt as it stood when he died.

The studio was taken apart between 1 October 1961 and March 1962. Its pieces were stored at the national museum of modern art and the Palais de Tokyo. A partial rebuild went on show at the Palais de Tokyo in 1962. An exact replica followed in 1977, facing Centre Pompidou. Floods in 1990 closed that replica to the public. Now the studio is due back in the national museum in 2030, in a space of its own.

Readers can follow the story from Paris too. The first episode of a five-part series in the Paris museum's magazine, published on 19 October 2026, visits impasse Ronsin.

Our view

We think a studio that was taken apart and rebuilt is a good way into his sculpture.

Moving a studio sounds simple until you picture the packing tape.

If you can reach New York, plan a visit before 27 February 2027.

Would you visit?