Pigcasso (c. April 2016 – March 2024) was a 700-kilogram (1,500 lb) painting pig from South Africa whose paintings have sold for millions of rand all over the world. Pigcasso was known for being the first non-human artist to host her own art exhibition and for collaborating with the watchmaker Swatch to design its 2019 limited-edition Flying Pig watch.[1] More broadly, she was known for inspiring conversations around veganism, vegetarianism, and animal rights.
Life
Pigcasso was a female pig (Sus domesticus) born in March[2] or April 2016 on an industrialised pig farm in the Winelands region of the Western Cape, South Africa. Along with her sister Rosie,[2] she was rescued in May 2016 by Joanne Lefson and taken to Farm Sanctuary SA in Franschhoek, the nonprofitanimal sanctuary that Lefson founded that year.[3] Lefson is a former professional golfer who briefly dated John Denver[4][5][6] and travelled the world with Oscar, a dog she adopted and married.[7]
Art career
When Lefson noticed that the pig ate and destroyed everything in her stall besides some paint brushes, she employed clicker training and positive reinforcement techniques to teach the pig to hold the brush in her mouth and apply paint to paper mounted on an easel placed before her.[7][8] By dipping the brush in different colors, the pig began to create colorful abstract paintings in October 2016, which Lefson then sold to raise funds for the farm sanctuary.[9] Each of Pigcasso's works was signed by dipping her nose-tip into beetroot ink and touching it onto the canvas.[10]
Pigcasso and Lefson were the first non-human/human collaboration to have held an art exhibition together, OINK, which took place at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town in 2018.[11][12] Pigcasso's artworks are considered to be abstract expressionist as opposed to figurative, and have sold for millions of rand[13] to collectors around the world. Three of her most famous pieces are Peacock, Snowman, and Mouse, each of which sold for $5,000 in 2021. A painting of Prince Harry that was sold to a Spanish buyer for £2,350 in 2021 also received global notoriety, based on its royal subject matter.[14] Works by Pigcasso have been held by Jane Goodall, Rafael Nadal,[15] and George Clooney.[16]
On 13 December 2021, a work by Pigcasso sold for £20,000,[17][18][19] a record price for an artwork created by an animal.[19][20] The 1.6 m × 2.6 m (5.2 ft × 8.5 ft) canvas, titled Wild and Free, was purchased by German art collector Peter Esser, eclipsing the £14,000 American collector Howard Hong paid for a painting by Congo the chimpanzee.[21][22]
The partnership between Pigcasso and Lefson has been noted for igniting debate around the definition of art and animal creativity, while also drawing attention to the living conditions of farm animals around the world.[7][23][24] Lefson stated that her aim is to educate the public about the devastating effects of animal agriculture on the welfare of animals and the environment in order to inspire a kinder, more sustainable world.[2]
Media
Pigcasso became the first non-human artist to endorse a commercial product when she was commissioned by watchmaker Swatch to design their 2019 watch called 'Flying Pig'.[25][26][27][28] She was also featured in the 60th anniversary advertisement of the Nissan Skyline (2017),[29][30] and in 2020, she launched her own Pigcasso wine range from the grapes that grow at the farm sanctuary where she lived.[31][32]
Pigcasso had chronic rheumatoid arthritis, which calcified her spine. Her condition deteriorated rapidly in September 2023 and by October her hind legs were nearly non-functional. On 6 March 2024, Lefson announced that Pigcasso had died.[15]