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Painting - Square Root Of Pi - 0.00001

National Museum of American History

Object Details

painter
Johnson, Crockett
Description
This oil painting on masonite, #91 in the series, uses the same construction as that of painting #52 (see 1979.1093.35). Crockett Johnson's construction leads to a square with side approximately equal to 1.772435, which differs from the square root of pi by less than 0.00001, as the title states. Thus, a square with this side would have an area approximately equal to 3.1415258.
Unlike painting #52 (1979.1093.35), the circle of this work is divided into four quadrants. Crockett Johnson chose darker shades and lighter tints of pink to illustrate his figure, which appear bold juxtaposed against the black background. The triangle executed in the lightest tint of pink and the shape executed in white with a pink tip adjoin the horizontal line segment that has an approximate length of the square root of pi.
This painting was completed in 1972, is unsigned, and has a wooden frame accented with chrome. On the back is an inscription, partly obscured, that reads: - 0.00001 (/) Crockett Johnson 1972.
Some sources refer to this painting as Circle Squared to 0.0001.
Credit Line
Ruth Krauss in memory of Crockett Johnson
1972
ID Number
1979.1093.60
catalog number
1979.1093.60
accession number
1979.1093
Object Name
painting
Physical Description
masonite (substrate material)
wood (frame material)
metal (frame material)
Measurements
overall: 25 in x 25 in x 1 5/16 in; 63.5 cm x 63.5 cm x 3.29997 cm
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Mathematics
Science & Mathematics
Crockett Johnson
Art
Exhibition
NMAH Board Room Entry
Exhibition Location
National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
Record ID
nmah_694684
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b4-4006-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

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Square Root of Pi - 0.00001
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International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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