Photo by Carissa Mosley
Pepperdine continues to expand its artistic focus on nature and sustainability with a life-sized bronze cougar resting atop the fountain in the Gregg G. Juarez Palm Court.
The statue was gifted to the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art by the late Peggy and Eric Lieber who were television producers that produced hits like “The Love Connection.”
The donated sculpture, titled “Cougar II” created by Gwynn Murrill, depicts a lounging mountain lion.
Peggy Lieber died in 2011 and her husband in 2008, but their legacy continued through the donation of almost 40 works of art to the Weisman Museum. The collection includes creations by influential Californian artists and world-renowned American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
The Lieber’s gift stands as the single largest donation in the history of the Weisman Museum. “We hope that the presence of this beautiful animal on campus will inspire students and visitors to reflect on how we have altered our environment — and on what we might do to restore a healthy, balanced ecosystem,” Director of the Weisman Museum Michael Zakian said.
Murrill created sculptures based off animals for more than 40 years. She graduated from UCLA in 1972 with a master’s degree in Fine Arts. That same year, she had her first solo exhibition in Los Angeles.
“It is a challenge to try and take the form that nature makes so well and to derive my own interpretation of it,” Murrill said in a Sept. 14 press release.
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Follow Madison Harwell on Twitter: @mad_har