{"product_id":"1913-armory-show-postcard-constantin-brancusi-une-muse","title":"1913 Armory Show Postcard of Constantin Brancusi's \"Une Muse\" Exhibited at the Premier Modern Art Exposition in the United States","description":"\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"10\"\u003e(Avant-Garde Art Interest) (Association of American Painters and Sculptors). 1913 Armory Show Postcard of Constantin Brancusi's \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"10\" data-index-in-node=\"128\"\u003eUne Muse\u003c\/i\u003e Exhibited at the Premier Modern Art Exposition in the United States. New York City: Association of American Painters and Sculptors, 1913. \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"10\" data-index-in-node=\"275\"\u003eFIRST EDITION.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"10\"\u003eAn unused photomechanical postcard measuring 5-1\/2\" x 3-1\/2\" (140 x 89 mm) on original tan card stock. Recto features a monochrome halftone reproduction of Brancusi’s sculpture executed entirely in shades of brown ink, with the title and artist credit printed below the image matrix. The decoratively printed verso is likewise executed in brown ink and bears the full exhibition title, \"International Exhibition \/ Modern Art \/ Association of American \/ Painters and Sculptors,\" alongside the official run dates, \"February 18 to \/ March 15 1913,\" and location address, \"69th Reg't Armory \/ 25th St., and Lexington Ave \/ New York City.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"11\"\u003eThe physical condition of this postcard is graded \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"11\" data-index-in-node=\"50\"\u003eVERY GOOD +\u003c\/b\u003e using the standard antiquarian grading scale for historic ephemera and works on paper; the tan card stock remains structurally rigid and clean, with a minor structural bump visible along the lower edge. The verso displays exceptional typographic clarity, marked only by a single, minute spot of localized foxing near the lower-right corner. The postcard remains entirely unposted, retaining its original, slightly rounded corners and uniform native coloration, presenting as a highly desirable, fresh, and completely unrestored survival.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"12\"\u003eThe 1913 Armory Show, Brancusi's Debut, and Walt Kuhn's Marketing Strategy\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"13\"\u003eThis exceptional ephemeral document serves as a direct witness to the landmark International Exhibition of Modern Art—immortalized in art history simply as the 1913 Armory Show. Organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors, this exhibition introduced mainstream American audiences to the European avant-garde for the first time, fundamentally shifting the trajectory of twentieth-century American art collecting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"14\"\u003eConstantin Brancusi contributed five works to the exhibition, marking the sculptor's sensational American debut and firmly placing him at the forefront of the avant-garde. While Brancusi initially carved \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"14\" data-index-in-node=\"204\"\u003eUne Muse\u003c\/i\u003e (A Muse) in white marble in 1912, he produced two plaster versions shortly thereafter; it was one of these rare plaster versions that was exhibited at the Armory Show and acquired that very year by Walt Kuhn, one of the exhibition's three principal organizers, becoming among the first works by Brancusi to enter an American collection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"15\"\u003eTo catalyze public interest in these radical new languages of form, Walt Kuhn executed a brilliant word-of-mouth marketing strategy. Rather than treating the exhibition's suite of approximately 53 postcards as mere passive souvenirs, Kuhn distributed them freely to prospective attendees to sample the exhibit’s range of styles. To maximize exposure, a mailbox was conveniently installed directly at the 69th Regiment Armory's exit, encouraging visitors to immediately mail images like this brown halftone reproduction of Brancusi's sculpture to the public, setting off a wave of patrons who would ultimately cement Brancusi’s global reputation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-path-to-node=\"16\"\u003ePublication Series, Institutional Census, and Scarcity\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"17\"\u003eAs a fragile, ephemeral survival intended for casual handling or correspondence, individual examples from the 1913 Armory Show postcard series are exceptionally scarce. This specific card represents one of the highly sought-after entries documenting the European modern sculpture contingent, which faced intense scrutiny and curiosity from the period's press and public.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"18\"\u003eA current global sweep of the OCLC\/WorldCat database confirms the pronounced scarcity of this title. Only three collections of the 1913 Armory Show postcards are located in institutional repositories: the Northwestern University Library holds a complete set of 53 postcards, the Art Institute of Chicago archives preserve a partial holding of 16 postcards, and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) holds an unquantified archival grouping. Individual specimens featuring seminal sculptors like Brancusi appear on the open market with vanishing frequency, making this a premier primary document from the foundational dawn of American modernism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"19\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"19\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eAN UNCOMMON AND ACADEMICALLY SIGNIFICANT EPHEMERAL SURVIVAL FROM THE HISTORIC 1913 ARMORY SHOW, REPRODUCTIVELY CAPTURING CONSTANTIN BRANCUSI’S RADICAL SCULPTURAL MASTERPIECE \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"19\" data-index-in-node=\"174\"\u003eUNE MUSE\u003c\/i\u003e, PRESENTING A PREMIER ACQUISITION FOR RESEARCH ARCHIVES OR DISCRIMINATING PRIVATE COLLECTIONS DEVOTED TO THE ORIGINS OF THE AMERICAN AVANT-GARDE.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e# 001289\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wallace \u0026 Clark, Booksellers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47400271544469,"sku":null,"price":700.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0459\/2589\/2245\/files\/brancusi_une_muse_01_20260604.jpg?v=1780628872","url":"https:\/\/wallaceandclark.com\/products\/1913-armory-show-postcard-constantin-brancusi-une-muse","provider":"Wallace \u0026 Clark, Booksellers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}