Brancusi was an important Modernist sculptor in the Parisian avant garde. His friend and fellow photographer Man Ray inspired him to acquire a camera and set up a darkroom in his studio. Brancusi used photography to document and share his sculptures, but his formal mastery in his primary medium carried over into his pictures. The emotive compositions and play of light, tone, and abstraction attracted critical appreciation of Brancusi’s photographs and led to their being collected and exhibited with as much enthusiasm as his iconic sculptures.