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Princess X is a sculpture by the artist Constantin Brâncuși depicting the Princess Marie Bonaparte, a psychoanalyst in her own right and great supporter of Freud. An initial version in marble is now in the Sheldon Museum of Art at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, whilst two versions as a polished bronze atop a limestone block stands tall (both created between 1915 and 1916) are now in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Musée national d'Art moderne in Paris.
The work was originally part of a "notorious scandal" when the Salon des Indépendants removed Princess X from display for its apparent obscene content, after some objected to the sculpture's Phallus resemblance. An Odd Bird archived Dec 8, 2024 from An Odd Bird, By Stéphanie Giry, Legal Affairs Brâncuși was reportedly shocked and declared the incident a misunderstanding; he had created Princess X to evoke feminine desire and vanity.
The style of Brâncuși "was largely fueled by myths, folklore, and primitive culture," this combined with the modern materials and tools Brâncuși used to sculpt, "formed a unique contrast...resulting in a distinctive kind of modernity and timelessness." The technique Brâncuși was known for and used on Princess X could be mistaken for a penis, but in fact it was the simple form of a woman.
In 1930, the watercolour painter Charles Demuth painted Distinguished Air, based on this story. Two of the viewers, one a gay sailor in uniform, study the phallus-like sculpture, emphasized in the painting. The husband of a married couple, an American with the 'distinguished air' of the title, is more interested in admiring the sailor.
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