Study for the Sculpture "The First Step"

Inscription: Signed (lower right): C. Brancusi

the artist (to Steichen or to Stieglitz); Alfred Stieglitz, New York (ca. 1914–d. 1946; his estate, 1946–49; gift to MMA)

New York. 291. "An Exhibition of Original Sculpture, in Bronze, Marble, and Wood, by Constantine Brancusi, of Paris," March 12–April 1, 1914, extended to April 4, 1914, not in brochure [possibly this work].

New York. An American Place. "Beginnings and Landmarks: "291," 1905–1917," October 27–December 27, 1937, no. 24 (as "Head," about 1919) [possibly this work].

Philadelphia Museum of Art. "History of an American, Alfred Stieglitz: '291' and After, Selections from the Stieglitz Collection," July 1–November 1, 1944, no. 110 (as "Torso").

Art Institute of Chicago. "Alfred Stieglitz: His Photographs and His Collection," February 2–29, 1948, no catalogue.

Museum of Modern Art, New York. "From the Alfred Stieglitz Collection: An Extended Loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 22–August 12, 1951, no catalogue (checklist no. E.L.51.645; as "Torso"; loan extended to June 9, 1958).

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings from the Alfred Stieglitz Collection," September 9–November 12, 1967, no catalogue.

Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Constantin Brancusi, 1876–1957: A Retrospective Exhibition," September 26–November 2, 1969, unnumbered cat. (p. 141; as "Torso").

New York. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. "Constantin Brancusi, 1876–1957: A Retrospective Exhibition," November 21, 1969–February 15, 1970, unnumbered cat.

Art Institute of Chicago. "Constantin Brancusi, 1876–1957: A Retrospective Exhibition," March 14–April 26, 1970, unnumbered cat.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Sculptors' Drawings: 1900–1935," November 10, 1994–March 26, 1995, no catalogue.

Paris. Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou. "Constantin Brancusi, 1876–1957," April 14–August 21, 1995, no. 128 (as "Study: The First Step").

Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Constantin Brancusi, 1876–1957," October 8–December 31, 1995, no. 128.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Stieglitz and His Artists: Matisse to O'Keeffe," October 13, 2011–January 2, 2012, no. 2.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "African Art, New York, and the Avant-Garde," November 27, 2012–September 2, 2013, no catalogue (on view until April 12, 2013).

Paris. Centre Pompidou. "Brancusi," March 27–July 1, 2024, unnumbered cat. (p. 14).

George Heard Hamilton. "The Alfred Stieglitz Collection." Metropolitan Museum Journal 3 (1970), p. 382, fig. 12.

Sidney Geist. Brancusi: The Sculpture and Drawings. New York, 1975, p. 68, ill.

Margit Rowell in Constantin Brancusi, 1876–1957. Exh. cat., Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris. Philadelphia, 1995, p. 299, no. 128, ill.

Christel Hollevoet-Force in Stieglitz and His Artists: Matisse to O'Keeffe. The Alfred Stieglitz Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ed. Lisa Mintz Messinger. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2011, pp. 19, 242, 314 n. 22, no. 2, ill. (color).