Celebrated internationally for her large-scale abstract sculptures and site-specific works, provocative environmental artist Beverly Pepper was renowned for her ability to transform unwieldy industrial metals such as Cor-Ten steel and cast iron into seemingly weightless objets d’art.
Born in 1922 in Brooklyn, New York, Pepper studied advertising design, photography and industrial design at Pratt Institute before embarking on a career as a commercial art director. Meanwhile, she also attended the Art Students League and studied art theory at Brooklyn College under Hungarian painter György Kepes, who introduced her to the works of Man Ray and László Moholy-Nagy.
In 1949, Pepper shifted her interest from commercial art to painting, studying in Paris at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. There, she met Cubist painters André Lhote and Fernand Léger, and visited the studios of Constantin Brâncusi and Ossip Zadkine. Pepper’s work at the time, owing to her experiences in Europe following the war, was largely characterized by a social realist perspective.
Pepper developed a passion for sculpting following a trip to Angkor Wat in Cambodia in 1960. She made her debut in 1962 with a series of carved tree trunks at a gallery in Rome. That same year, Pepper was invited to exhibit at the “Festival of Two Worlds” show in Spoleto, Italy alongside the likes of Henry Moore and Alexander Calder. To prepare for the exhibition, Pepper quickly learned how to weld and soon became an accomplished metalworker — an unusual skill for women at the time.
By the late 1960s and 1970s, Pepper became known for her stainless-steel abstract and still-life sculptures such as Matera Scatolata. She also created several abstract geometric, foil-embossed collage prints including Collage 1 and Collage 3. In later years, she used heavier materials including bronze, iron and Cor-Ten steel in her modern monumental works such as Curved Presence.
Throughout her sculpting career, Pepper had countless solo exhibitions and participated in group shows, and won several awards, including the Allied Arts Honor Award by the American Institute of Architects in 1999, the Alexander Calder Prize in 2000 and the International Sculpture Center Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. Her sculptures are part of the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among others.
On 1stDibs, discover authentic Beverly Pepper sculptures and prints.
Untitled, Abstract Expressionist Etching by Beverly Pepper
By Beverly Pepper
Located in Long Island City, NY
Beverly Pepper, American (1922 - 2020) - Untitled, Year: 1987, Medium: Etching, signed and numbered in pencil, Image Size: 22 x 16.25 inches, Size: 37 x 26.25 in. (93.98 x 66.68 cm)
Etching
Untitled - Original Etching by Beverly Pepper - 1970s
By Beverly Pepper
Located in Roma, IT
Hand signed and numbered. Edition of 50 specimens. Good conditions.
Paper, Etching
Collage 1 v2, Collage Multiple by Beverly Pepper, 1968
By Beverly Pepper
Located in Long Island City, NY
This shiny foil-embossed collage was created by American artist Beverly Pepper (b. 1922). Throughout Pepper's career, she became known for her graceful geometric welded steel sculptu...
Foil
Untitled
By Beverly Pepper
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Beverly Pepper (1922-2020) was an internationally renowned artist, known for her large-scale outdoor sculptures. Although Pepper was raised and educated in New York, by her late tw...
Monoprint
Ternana Brown Etching, Aquatint on Wove Paper, Signed, 1989, 17/40
By Beverly Pepper
Located in New York, NY
Etching, aquatint and chalcography on wove paper, 1989 Signed in pencil, numbered 17/40 Published by 2RC Edizioni d'Arte, Rome with their blindstamp, the full sheet Very Good condit...
Etching, Aquatint
Untitled
By Henri Goetz
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Untitled Signed in pencil lower right (see photo) Edition: 25 (9/25) (see photo) Engraving, drypoint & carborundum Printed by the artist Condition: Excellent, slight residue on rever...
Drypoint, Etching
$1,883
H 13.47 in W 12.01 in D 0.04 in
Zao Wou-ki - Moments - Original Aquatint with Hand-Signed Justification
By Zao Wou-Ki
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Zao Wou-ki - Moments - Original Aquatint Edition of 130 Dimensions: 34.2 x 30.5 cm Vellum paper BFK Rives 1996 Bibliography: Jørgen Ågerup, Zao Wou-Ki: The Graphic Work, A Catalogue ...
Aquatint
$5,500
H 36.5 in W 45.5 in
Red Cascade - Cypress Gardens - contemporary, abstract, acrylic on paper
By Paul Fournier
Located in Bloomfield, ON
The kaleidoscope of colours and the dynamic form of nature are expressed in this joyful celebration of nature. Rendered in right red, yellow, blue, green, orange and yellow—the colou...
Monoprint
$750
H 32 in W 28 in
Lucio Pozzi - Barocco (Baroque) Monoprint on paper Unique Signed Italian artist
By Lucio Pozzi
Located in New York, NY
Monoprint on paper Unique Signed, dated and titled in pencil on the front with publisher's blindstamp on the front (shown) Significance of the title - Barocco (Baroque): The French p...
Monoprint
$8,453
H 35.12 in W 26.82 in D 1.58 in
Incredible framed artwork by contemporary artist (after Rembrandt) monochrome
By Glenn Brown
Located in London, GB
This is a truly stunning work by contemporary great, Glenn Brown. This work is an Artist Proof, one of only 12 created. The frame is handmade by famous London framers, Darbyshire. I...
Paper, Etching
Germat - Etching by Karl Fred Dahmen
By Karl Fred Dahmen
Located in Roma, IT
Germat is an original color etching realized by the German artist Karl Fred Dahmen in 1974. Hand-signed, titled, dated and numbered on the lower margin. Edition 94 of 100 prints. ...
Etching
Lithograph Optical Pop Art Attrib. Victor Vasarely
By Victor Vasarely
Located in Napoli, IT
Lithograph Optical Pop Art Attrib. Victor Vasarely, 1970s with frame
Paper, Lithograph
$1,250
H 22.25 in W 15.5 in
Comet, Outer Space Dark Series Aquatint Etching Color Abstract Expressionist
By Pat Steir
Located in Surfside, FL
Pat Steir (born 1940) is an American painter and printmaker. Her early work was loosely associated with Conceptual Art and Minimalism, however, she is best known for her abstract dri...
Etching, Aquatint
$49,000
H 22.5 in W 34 in
"Chuckle" signed monoprint in oil on handmade paper by artist Mel Bochner
By Mel Bochner
Located in Boca Raton, FL
"Chuckle" monoprint in oil with collage, engraving and embossment on handmade paper in bright colors by artist Mel Bochner framed in an open white wooden frame. Signed and dated rect...
Oil, Handmade Paper, Engraving, Monoprint
Asger Jorn (1914–1973) - Drypoint etching on paper - 1945
By Asger Jorn
Located in Varese, IT
Drypoint etching on paper, edited in 1945. Limited edition, printed by Galerie Rive Gauche, Paris, as a New Year’s card. The technique (“Pointe sèche d'Asger JORN”) and the date are ...
Paper, Drypoint, Etching
$4,200
H 19.5 in W 25.5 in D 0.1 in
Original Italian MCM Modernist Signed Abstract Lithograph Marino Marini 1969
By Marino Marini
Located in Portland, OR
A color abstract geometric composition titled "From Color to Form IV", executed in 1969, by the celebrated Italian artist Marino Marini (1901-1980). A rare artist's proof Marini was...
Paper
$353
H 5.12 in W 4.34 in
The millstone, cornerstone of civilization's development - 21st Century, Etching
By Jerzy Dmitruk
Located in Warsaw, PL
JERZY DMITRUK (born in 1960) He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts at the Faculty of Paintings and Graphics. Dmitruk graduated in 1986 from the atelier of professor Juliusz Joniak a...
Paper, Etching
Sold
H 19.5 in W 28 in
Beverly Pepper, "Collage 3, " Embossed Collage Multiple, 1968
By Beverly Pepper
Located in Long Island City, NY
This shiny foil-embossed collage was created by American artist Beverly Pepper (b. 1922). Throughout Pepper's career, she became known for her graceful geometric welded steel sculptu...
Foil
Untitled
By Beverly Pepper
Located in New York, NY
This stunning print was realized by the esteemed American artist, Beverly Pepper circa 1968. Throughout her career, Pepper has received numerous awards, including: Doctor of Fine Art...
Lithograph
Sold
H 19.5 in W 28 in
Beverly Pepper, "Collage 3, " Embossed Collage Multiple, 1968
By Beverly Pepper
Located in Long Island City, NY
This shiny foil-embossed collage was created by American artist Beverly Pepper (b. 1922). Throughout Pepper's career, she became known for her graceful geometric welded steel sculptu...
Foil
Beverly Pepper, Embossed Collage Multiple, 1968
By Beverly Pepper
Located in Long Island City, NY
This shiny embossed collage was created by American artist Beverly Pepper (b. 1922). Throughout Pepper's career, she became known for her graceful geometric welded steel sculptures a...
Mixed Media
Beverly Pepper, Embossed Collage Multiple, 1968
By Beverly Pepper
Located in Long Island City, NY
This shiny embossed collage was created by American artist Beverly Pepper (b. 1922). Throughout Pepper's career, she became known for her graceful geometric welded steel sculptures a...
Mixed Media