Pi

ca. 1978

Beverly Pepper American, 1922 - 2020

Not On View

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About the Artwork

“As an artist, I create work to discover it. To make its acquaintance. To sculpt a space.”
— Beverly Pepper, 1978
The drawing by sculptor Beverly Pepper reveals an artist who used drawing to explore form that she would later execute in three dimensions. Pepper was renowned for her monumental steel sculptures and land art. While she does not appear to have created a sculpture under this title, Pi, the drawing demonstrates her exploration of triangular forms and play with interior and exterior, solid and void.

Title Pi

Artwork Date ca. 1978

Artist Beverly Pepper

Life Dates 1922 - 2020

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. American

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Crayon and charcoal on paper

Dimensions Sheet: 25 9/16 × 30 9/16 inches (64.9 × 77.6 cm) Image: 15 1/2 inches × 29 inches (39.4 × 73.7 cm)

Classification Drawings

Department Prints, Drawings & Photographs

Credit Gift of the Lila and Gilbert Silverman Collection

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2023.327

Markings

Signed Signed, in pencil, lower right: Beverly Pepper

Inscriptions Titled, in pencil, lower left: Pi Inscribed, in pencil, lower left (oriented as if upper right): 20

Provenance

1978, sold by (Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA);
1978-2020, purchased by Gilbert B. Silverman [1925-2016] and Lila Silverman [1933-2020] (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA);
2020-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA), accessioned to the collection in 2023

For more information on provenance, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Published References

Hall, Michael. Instruction Drawings. The Gilbert and Lila Silverman Collection. Exh. cat., Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum. Bloomfield Hills, 1981, p. 48 (ill.); p. 69.

Kvaran, Gunnar B. and Jon Hendricks. After the Beginning and Before the End: Instruction Drawings From the Gilbert and Lila Silverman Collection, Detroit. Exh. cat., Bergen Kunstmuseum. Bergen, 2001, cat. 550, p. 172.

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