One foundation, two continents,
a single œuvre
The Constantin Brancusi International Foundation was created in 1991, in New York and Bucharest, by art historian Radu Varia, with a single mission: the defence, conservation and worldwide affirmation of Constantin Brancusi's work.
The Foundation's founding moment is tied to the most dramatic emergency of the Brancusian heritage: the condition of the Monumental Ensemble at Târgu Jiu. The Endless Column — the absolute masterpiece of modern sculpture — was deteriorating, and its rescue demanded expertise no local institution could assemble alone. The Foundation brought together the Getty Conservation Institute and the Swedish Corrosion Institute of Stockholm, placed the Ensemble on the World Monuments Fund list and secured, in Washington, three million dollars from the World Bank for its restoration.
This effort of decades found its crowning in 2024, when the Monumental Ensemble "The Heroes' Way" — the Endless Column, the Gate of the Kiss, the Table of Silence — was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the definitive recognition of its universal value.
In parallel, the Foundation has constantly supported research and knowledge of Brancusi's œuvre: publications dedicated to the Târgu Jiu Ensemble, documented positions on the question of originals, copies and fakes, projects on Brancusi as photographer of his own work and on the sculptor's American years. In 2026 — the year Romania celebrates by law 150 years since the artist's birth — the Foundation is preparing its central editorial project: the first Romanian edition of Radu Varia's monograph "Brancusi".
Radu Varia
A Doctor in the History of Art and Civilisation of the University of Paris, Radu Varia is one of the prominent figures of the international art world of recent decades — and the voice that placed Brancusi's œuvre, definitively, in the world's consciousness.
His monograph "Brancusi", published by Rizzoli in New York in 1986 — declared book of the year by American librarians — then by Gallimard in Paris (1989) and Seibu in Tokyo (1993), is considered the fundamental work dedicated to the sculptor. He has organised exhibitions in the world's great museums, among them the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris.
His expertise is internationally recognised, including on the question of the authenticity of Brancusi's works. In 2001, under the aegis of the Foundation, he initiated the reference document "Brancusi. Originals, Copies, Fakes", signed together with 42 other art historians, museum directors and artists, and his expert opinion has been sought over the years in celebrated cases concerning works attributed to the sculptor.
- Honorary Member of the Royal Scottish Academy — the first Romanian, and the first foreign art historian after Sir David Talbot Rice and Lord Kenneth Clark
- Awarded the Silver Medal of the Royal Scottish Academy, conferred only 12 times in 185 years
- Member of the European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters in Paris and of the Academia Scientiarum et Artium Europaea in Salzburg
- Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (France) · Commander of the Italian Republic
- 11 nominations for the Leonardo da Vinci World Award
Ligia Pompilia Melintescu
Vice-President of the Foundation, Ligia Pompilia Melintescu brings vast experience in finance, built over more than 20 years in the banking system as a branch manager. Across those years she led teams, administered budgets and client portfolios, coordinated lending operations and worked daily with the compliance and control standards of the banking environment — a school of rigour few fields can equal. This expertise guarantees the way the Foundation administers its partners' funds: transparently, fully documented, and reported to the standards of a financial institution.
Her experience in the non-governmental sector is just as rich: for over 10 years a member of Rotary Club Atheneum Bucharest — a club dedicated to humanitarian and community-support projects — where she also served as President. Through her involvement, the club created and organised several charitable events which later became part of the series of humanitarian events held year after year in support of different causes.
Within the Foundation, she coordinates the activity in Romania — relations with institutional partners and sponsors, project administration and the preparation of the first Romanian edition of the "Brancusi" monograph.
Write to us
For partnerships, press, or any question about the Foundation's projects.
fundatia.brancusi@gmail.com