Ponti Art Gallery is interested in buying and selling works
of art by this artist.
Beverly Pepper Biography
Beverly Pepper was a pioneering American sculptor whose monumental works and site-specific installations have left an indelible mark on the landscape of contemporary art. Born Beverly Stoll on December 20, 1922, in Brooklyn, New York City, Pepper's early life was set against the backdrop of the Great Depression. Her parents were Jewish immigrants, with her father working as a furrier and carpet seller, and her mother volunteering for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). This environment of strong, independent role models, particularly her mother and grandmother, instilled in Pepper a belief that she could achieve anything she set her mind to, despite societal expectations of women at the time.
Pepper's artistic journey began in earnest when she was just six years old. An anecdote from her childhood tells of her sneaking a dollar from her mother's purse to buy a box of colored pencils, an act that earned her a reprimand but also sparked a lifelong passion for art. She initially pursued an education in engineering, but the gender biases of the era barred her from this path. Undeterred, Pepper turned to the arts, studying advertising design, photography, and industrial design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. She furthered her education at the Art Students League of New York and took night classes at Brooklyn College, where she was introduced to the works of László Moholy-Nagy and Man Ray.
In the post-war years, Pepper's artistic aspirations took her to Europe, where she studied painting in Paris at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière under cubist painters André Lhote and Fernand Léger, as well as visiting the studios of Ossip Zadkine and Constantin Brâncuși. It was during this time that she met her future husband, the American writer Curtis Bill Pepper, and the couple would later become part of the vibrant community of American expatriates in Italy, including notable figures such as Ezra Pound and Norman Mailer.
Pepper's early works were primarily paintings, often depicting figurative scenes with a social realist bent. However, a transformative trip to Angkor Wat in Cambodia in 1960 led her to shift her focus to sculpture. She was deeply moved by the ancient temple ruins, and this experience prompted her to begin working with wood and clay, creating small sculptural forms. Her first solo sculpture show took place in New York in 1961, and she quickly established herself as a sculptor of note.
In 1962, Pepper was invited to participate in the "Sculture nella Cittá" exhibition at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. This opportunity allowed her to work in local steel factories, where she apprenticed herself to an ironworker to learn how to weld. This marked the beginning of her work with metal, which would become her primary medium for large-scale sculptures. Her first steel sculpture, created during this period, stood nearly eighteen feet tall.
Throughout her career, Pepper remained independent from any particular art movement, forging her own path with a unique sculptural language that synthesized classicism and modernity. Her works often featured rough, industrial materials like Cor-Ten steel, yet they exuded a sense of gracefulness and spiritual energy. She was known for her site-specific installations that harmoniously integrated natural and urban environments, such as the Beverly Pepper Sculpture Park in Todi, Italy, which she designed and donated to the city.
Pepper's sculptures have been exhibited and collected by prestigious museums worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Uffizi Gallery, and the Smithsonian Institution. Her public commissions can be found in cities from Sydney to Houston, Stockholm to Jerusalem. Despite her significant contributions to the field of sculpture, Pepper was not as widely recognized as some of her contemporaries, a testament to the challenges she faced as a woman in a male-dominated art world.
Recognition for her work came in many forms, including the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France, The Alexander Calder Prize, and the International Sculpture Center’s Lifetime Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award. Beverly Pepper passed away on February 5, 2020, in Todi, Italy, leaving behind a legacy of monumental art that continues to inspire and awe.
Beverly Pepper Quotes and
Sales of Works
Ponti Art Gallery selects and deals with paintings by the
artist. Upon request, we provide free estimates and
evaluations, communicate prices, quotations, and current
market values.
If you are interested in BUYING or SELLING works by the
artist, contact us immediately.
If you wish to sell or receive an evaluation of the
works:
Send us a frontal photo of the painting, one of the back,
and one of the signature. Also, indicate the dimensions of
the work. Inform us about the purchase origin of the work
and any kind of available documentation (purchase
receipts, certificates of authenticity, publications). One
of our operators will respond to you on the same day. We
guarantee maximum confidentiality and extreme
professionalism.
If you wish to purchase works by the painter: Contact us
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