Painting - <I>Area and Perimeter of a Squared Circle</I>
date: label: date made
content: 1970-1975
name: label: painter
content: Johnson, Crockett
notes: label: Description
content: To "square” a figure, according to the classical Greek tradition, means to construct, with the aid of only straightedge and compass, a square equal in area to that of the figure. The Greeks could square numerous figures, but were unsuccessful in efforts to square a circle. It was not until the nineteenth century that the impossibility of squaring a circle was demonstrated.
label: Description
content: This painting is an original construction by Crockett Johnson. It begins with the assumption that the circle has been squared, the area of the larger square equals that of the circle. Crockett Johnson then constructed a smaller square so that it has perimeter equal to the circumference of the circle. His diagram for the painting is shown, with the large square having side AB and the small one side of length AC.
label: Description
content: The painting is #95 in the series. It has a black background. There is a rose circle superimposed on two gray squares. The painting is unsigned and has a metal frame.
label: Description
content: Reference: Carl B. Boyer and Uta C. Merzbach, <I>A History of Mathematics</I> (1991), pp. 65-7, pp. 71–2.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Mathematics
label: See more items in
content: Science & Mathematics
label: See more items in
content: Crockett Johnson
label: See more items in
content: Art
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Ruth Krauss in memory of Crockett Johnson
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1979.1093.63
label: catalog number
content: 1979.1093.63
label: accession number
content: 1979.1093
objectType: label: Object Name
content: painting
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: cardboard (substrate material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (frame material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 61 cm x 61 cm x 3.2 cm; 24 in x 24 in x 1 1/4 in