@pigcassohoghero
Pigcasso, a painting pig that was saved from slaughter at the eleventh hour and went on to become a world-renowned artist, has sold an abstract work for a record-breaking £20,000. The picture, Wild and Free, was purchased by a German buyer named Peter Esser on Monday, just hours after it was put up for sale. It smashes the previous record of £14,000 set by a chimp named Congo in 2005 for an animal's artwork.
@pigcassohoghero
After being rescued from the slaughterhouse as a piglet by owner Joanne Lefson, the animal artist has painted hundreds of paintings over the previous five years.
The couple lives at Farm Sanctuary SA, a sanctuary for rescued farm animals in South Africa's Franschhoek Valley. Joanne said she had Congo's record in mind when she came up with the idea for Pigcasso's current work, but she didn't want to break it; instead, she wanted to demonstrate how intelligent and creative animals can be.
'I wanted Pigcasso to design something that had never been done before,' she explained. 'An oversized, larger-than-life canvas that could call into question the inherent worth of an animal-created work of art.' The piece was completed, presented on social media, and sold within 72 hours of its publication.
'There was a lot of interest in the piece,' Joanne continued. 'It's not simply a visually stunning and lovely artwork; it's a significant occasion for Pigcasso and farm animals.' You can't look at it and not think their brains, individuality, and creativity are more valuable.'
Pigcasso was rescued from an industrialized hog business on the suburbs of Cape Town a month after birth in 2016. After several old paintbrushes were accidentally left in her stall, Joanne found that the pig had a talent for painting.
Pigcasso, now five years old and weighing a whopping 1,500 pounds, has generated over 400 works of original art as a result of her decision to cultivate the pig's passion. All sales go towards Farm Sanctuary SA's operations and the care of the vulnerable animals there.
Selena Mattei