Beverly Pepper facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Beverly Pepper
Beverly Pepper at work in Italy in 1960. Photo by Curtis Bill Pepper
Born	Beverly Stoll (1922-12-20)December 20, 1922 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	February 5, 2020(2020-02-05) (aged 97) Todi, Italy
Nationality	American
Education	Pratt Institute, Art Students' League, Brooklyn College
Known for	Painter, Sculptor
Spouse(s)	Curtis Bill Pepper

Beverly Pepper (born Stoll; December 20, 1922 – February 5, 2020) was an American artist. She was famous for creating very large sculptures. Many of her artworks were made for a specific outdoor place, or even used the land itself as part of the art. She lived in Todi, Italy, for most of her life since the 1950s.

Early Life and Learning

Beverly Stoll was born on December 20, 1922, in Brooklyn, New York City. Her parents were immigrants. Her father worked with furs and sold carpets. Her mother volunteered for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Beverly said her home was "interesting." She felt strong because her mother and grandmother were strong women. This made her believe she could do anything.

When she was sixteen, she went to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. There, she studied advertising, photography, and industrial design. After that, she worked as an art director for businesses. She also took classes at the Art Students League of New York. At Brooklyn College, she learned about art theory. She learned about artists like László Moholy-Nagy and Man Ray. In 1949, she moved to Paris, France. She studied painting at art schools like the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. She learned from famous painters like André Lhote and Fernand Léger.

Her Artworks

Beverly Pepper started her career as a painter. But in 1960, she visited Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The ancient temple ruins there, covered by jungle plants, amazed her. This trip inspired her to start making sculptures. In 1962, she showed her first sculptures in Rome. These were carved tree trunks.

Pepper began to mix wood carvings with metal pieces in her sculptures. An art critic named Rosalind Krauss said Pepper used electric drills and saws to work on logs. After showing her art in New York and Rome, she was invited to a special exhibition in Italy. She worked in factories to create large sculptures. This included The Gift of Icarus and Leda.

In the 1960s, Pepper started using shiny stainless steel. She used a torch to shape thick pieces of steel. Her art then changed to highly polished stainless steel with painted insides. These sculptures often seemed to disappear and reappear. They reflected the world around them. Pepper said she wanted people looking at her art to become part of it. She wanted a "constant exchange" between the viewer and the artwork.

All of Pepper's sculptures were shown outdoors. Later, she started using the earth itself to hold her sculptures. She called these "Earthbound Sculptures." They looked like they were growing out of the ground. In the 1970s, she created a famous work called Amphisculpture (1974–1976). She also started using a special type of steel called Cor-ten steel. This steel rusts on the outside, but it protects the inside. Pepper was one of the first artists to use Cor-Ten steel in her sculptures. She made pieces like Dallas Land Canal (1971–1975). From the 1970s onward, she lived and worked in both Europe and the United States.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Pepper made works like Cromlech Glen and Sol i Ombra. These artworks mixed nature with industrial materials. They also invited people to walk through them and be part of the art. Palengenesis showed her interest in cast iron. This artwork showed how one part seemed to grow from another. It was like children growing up and becoming separate from their parents.

Pepper also completed a park project in Calgary, Canada, called Calgary Sentinels and Hawk Hill (2008–2010). She said her art offers a quiet place for people to think in busy cities.

Beverly Pepper had her studio in a medieval town in Umbria, Italy. She was represented by famous art galleries. In 2013, she said, "I live in the present but draw from the past." She believed her artworks would "know" more about the future than she could.

Beverly Pepper passed away on February 5, 2020, at her home in Todi, Italy. She was 97 years old.

Her Family

Beverly Pepper was married twice. Her first marriage was to Lawrence Gussin from 1941 to 1948. In 1948, she married writer Curtis Bill Pepper. They were married until he passed away in 2014. They had two children. Their daughter, Jorie Graham, is a poet who won a Pulitzer Prize. Their son, John Randolph Pepper, is a photographer, director, and actor.

Art Shows and Collections

Beverly Pepper's artworks have been shown and collected by many important museums and galleries around the world. Some of these include:

Awards and Honors

Beverly Pepper received many awards during her life. She earned honorary doctorates from the Pratt Institute and The Maryland Institute. She was also given special honors in Italy and Spain. France made her a "Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres," which is a high honor for artists. In 2013, she received the Lifetime Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award. She was also honored by the Women's Caucus for Art in 1994.

In 2016, Beverly Pepper gave her personal collection of sketchbooks, drawings, and other works to the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. This collection has almost 900 pieces of her work.

Gallery

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  Longo Monolith

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  Longo Monolith

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  Departure: For My Grandmother, Europos Parkas, Lithuania

See also

In Spanish: Beverly Pepper para niños

• Bedford Sentinels, Stanford University
• Split Ritual at the U.S. National Arboretum