Endless Column and the Cock, c. 1935

The present photograph was donated to the Museum by Elizabeth Meyer Lorentz (1914–2001), the second daughter of Agnes Ernst Meyer (1887–1970). As a journalist in New York, the elder Meyer met Stieglitz, Steichen and other artists within their circle; it was through this connection that she first met Brâncuși while on a trip to France in 1908, establishing what became a lifelong friendship. After her marriage to Eugene Meyer, Jr., a wealthy financier, she found herself in the position to collect the work of various significant artists of the time, including Paul Cézanne, John Marin, and Brâncuși.