Abstraction Wins Over Realism

In 1926, U.S. customs put art on trial—mistaking a masterpiece for a household object. Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși had sent his work *Bird in Space* to New York: a sleek bronze form that evokes the sweep of a wing. Works of art were exempt from import duties, but customs officials refused to classify it as art. They called it ordinary industrial metal, filed it under “kitchen and hospital utensils,” and demanded a hefty tax of 40% of its value.

Brâncuși took the case to court. The trial dragged on for two years. Officials wanted to see a beak and wings; experts argued that the sculpture captured the very essence of flight. In 1928, the court ruled in Brâncuși’s favor. The landmark decision changed the law for good: art, the court recognized, was allowed to be abstract.

*Constantin Brâncuși: works from the “Bird in Space” series (1923–1940)

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