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The Case of Constantin Brancusi vs the United States of America: an extract

www2.bellevuecollege.edu · 2,566 words · saved by 1 readers

…When I brought Brancusi’s sculpture “Bird in Space” back home with me to the U.S. New York Customs withheld the work and refused me the regular tax exemption allocated to works of art. The sculpture was registered as a banal object to be imported and put into the same category as domestic utensils or surgical instruments. I thus had to pay a tax of about $600 [in fact $240]. I was frightfully offended and decided to register a complaint. A few days later I was with some friends, recounting my mishap where completely by chance I met Mrs. Harry Payne Whitney, founder of the Whitney Museum of American Art, She quickly understood that this could set a precedent and she asked me to let her lawyers take charge of the affair. I was very touched by her proposal and accepted immediately.

The Case of Constantin Brancusi vs the United States of America: an extract jjuarez jjuarez 2 373 2004-05-06T22:10:00Z 2004-05-06T22:10:00Z 1 2012 11473 Bellevue Community College 95 26 13459 10.4219 Clean Clean MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The Case of Constantin Brancusi vs the United States of America : an extract From: Art Newspaper #63, Oct. 1996 How the case came to court �When I brought Brancusi�s sculpture �Bird in Space� back home with me to the U.S. � New York Customs withheld the work and refused me the regular tax exemption allocated to works of art. � The sculpture was registered as

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