born Feb. 21, 1876, Hobiţa, Rom.
died March 16, 1957, Paris, Fr.
Romanian-born French sculptor.
He became adept at carving wooden farm implements as a child and later studied in Bucharest and Munich and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, having walked most of the way from Munich. He first exhibited in Paris in 1906. In 1908 he executed Sleeping Muse , influenced by The Kiss , his first truly original work. He developed a geometric style that became his hallmark, reducing natural forms to an abstract simplicity. He exhibited five works, including Mademoiselle Pogany , in the 1913 {{link=Armory Show">Armory Show . One of his favourite themes was a bird in flight; his most famous treatment was the celebrated polished-bronze Bird in Space (1919). Through numerous exhibitions in the U.S. and Europe, he achieved great fame and success, and he is regarded as a pioneer of modern abstract sculpture.