Paintings by animals

Just an old but true story:

In the Swedish zoo in the city of Borås, a chimpanzee was "tought to paint" sometime in the late 1960:s. Whether this was a good thing from a zoo animal enrichment point of view or not, i will not go into now.

But his paintings were accepted at an art exhibition. Somebody with a sense of humour at Borås Zoo claimed to be a representative of the "The French Expressionist" Pierre Brassau ("Pierre", of course being the chimp). So "Pierre´s" painitings were sent to the art exhibition and everybody in the "cultural elite" came to see them!

Do I need to mention that "Pierre Brassau" received ecstatic reviews from the "art critics" in all the newspapers?

"Bold expressionism" etc etc
 
I couldn't resist responding to this one. My dog and I have been collaborating on art for several years now. It started as a novelty - like seeing duckies and bunnies in the clouds, only in this case it was her nose and tongue markings on the windows that yielded "flowers" and "critters", which I photographed and processed in the computer and printed. That phase passed quickly, though, when I came to fully appreciate the grace and beauty of her totally expressionistic strokes as she reacted to whatever was happening outside the window. Color and composition have always been my strong points as an artist; exuberance and uninhibited "painting" are my Airedale's forte. We have a wonderful synergy and have produced some really satisfying abstract expressionist art - something I probably never would have done without her! Of course she doesn't consciously set out to produce art, but she functions admirably as my "brush" to get things started. I think animals in general have that innate ability to produce beautiful markings, whether the medium is dirt, bark, "nose goob" - or paint, without the hang-ups that come with being human.
 
There are a lot of animal paintings that come out of the San Diego Zoo also. Elephants & orangutans do the only ones that I think would be considered "paintings". They also have cheetahs, meerkats, polar bears, koalas, brown bears, etc make paw prints.
I think there are different aspects of this practice that appeal to different people. The keepers might say it's good enrichment. The development people say the paintings are a good fundraising tool. Patrons might like them because they get a print/painting made by an animal they love. And some people also find artistic value in them.
There are all kinds of neat things that come out of these paintings, I think. There have been a few that I would love to have, but they've gone for more money than I could pay at the time.
 
PiCassieO said:
Was that for me? If so, clarify please.:confused:
Click to expand...

Sorry it means; taking the mickey, having a bath at our expense, are you the minister for whimsy and caprice..?

Or more simply were you being serious..? :D
 
NZ Jeremy said:
Sorry it means; taking the mickey, having a bath at our expense, are you the minister for whimsy and caprice..?

Or more simply were you being serious..? :D
Click to expand...

Thanks for the translation! Yep - I'm serious (but having great fun). An artist friend advised me to leave the dog out of it because the idea of "dog snot" might repel some people. Being me, there's no way I'd take total credit for something I had help with, so the dog stays in the spotlight. Besides, it's not snot (try saying that one fast several times) - just a healthy dog nose making marks on the window, and very nice marks at that.
 
That is very unique, best of luck however I shall not be putting in an order..!
 
I have two paintings in my home.

The first was painted by Bonnie, an orangutan at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC. I bought it at the zoo's silent auction fundraiser. The National Zoo orangutans love to paint, although they don't do get a lot of opportunities. Last Saturday, at the start of Orangutan Awareness Week, one of them was painting and spent over 30 minutes thinking about her colors and her strokes. The visitors who were watching had a special opportunity to observe orangutan cognition in action!

My other painting was by Cheetah, the 76-year old chimpanzee star of the old Tarzan movies. Cheetah, who is diabetic and takes insulin shots willingly, uses the colors as requested by donors. CHEETA, a sanctuary for retired entertainment animals, uses them to support their work. C.H.E.E.T.A. Primate Sanctuary
 
I am surprised that no-one has mentioned Cholla the horse artist, although not all (30%) of the revenue from his paintings goes towards charitable organisations. Anyway, here is a link to his website and art. I think he is quite famous by the sound of it. Excellent video of him painting too.

The Horse artist Cholla
galley here

I think Cholla paintings have more than a lot of the Thailand painting elephants and really, it depends on what size brush you put in their trunks I suppose, but in my opinion, these are not inspired paintings - even for elephants. I would have thought that you could get more creative work from them with a small amount of effort from the human handlers.
 
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Amazing Grace

There is a mule in Virginia, Amazing Grace who does awesome paintings.
Her site is:
stevesamazinggrace.com
She also performs and was in a movie.
 
I seem to remember seeing something that demonatrated that the elephants were responding to subtle cues from their handlers.

Definitely shouldn't dismiss it all though. And it's not all painting *G* Donnie the Doberman dog is pretty amazing.

Donnie the Doberman Arranges Toys | Dobermans Den (unfortunately the video is blocked where I am, maybe others will see it. I did see the program though and the dog definitly seemed to be doing it intentionally and re-arranging until he was happy)
Barbara Smuts - Research: Donnie Some pictures for those that can't see the video
Just How Human is Your Pet? - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com Second page has some interesting links
http://www.hope4dobe.org/success_stories/write-ups/emily.htm Another link I came across that describes a Doberman arranging things... maybe it's a thing with this breed!
 
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I apologize for resurrecting a once dead thread but as a collector myself I am very interested in hearing more about sources. I currently have nearly two dozen "pieces" done by animals across the country, and I am participating with a local AAZK chapter to help with their program for fundraising as well.

This is my current collection, I apologize for the format but I am pasting it directly from my spreadsheet registry (insurance purposes). The species is listed followed by the name of the artist and the Zoo where that animal lives (or in the case of one of the animals, lived at the time of the painting)

-Black and White Colobus Monkey Kianga (F) Santa Ana Zoo, Santa Ana CA
-Asian Elephant Rosie (F) Have Trunk Will Travel, Perris CA
-Magellanic Penguin Figet, Los Amigos, Shadow Saint Louis Zoo, Saint Louis MO
-Chimpanzee Unknown Saint Louis Zoo, Saint Louis MO
-Sumatran Orangutan Baka (M) Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs CO
-Sumatran Orangutan Sumagu (F) Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs CO
-Bornean Orangutan Tujoh (M) Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs CO
-Bornean Orangutan Hadiah (F) Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs CO
-Spectacled Bear Joaquin (M) Beardsley Zoo, Bridgeport CT
-Maned Wolf Osa (F) Beardsley Zoo, Bridgeport CT
-Sumatran Orangutan Unknown Saint Louis Zoo, Saint Louis MO
-Jaguar Caax (M) Erie Zoo, Erie PA
-African Wild Dog Deliliah (F) Erie Zoo, Erie PA
-North American River Otter Birdie (F) Erie Zoo, Erie PA
-African Warthog Miss Kitty (F) and Lily (F) Erie Zoo, Erie PA
-Southern White Rhinoceros Dougan (M) Erie Zoo, Erie PA
-Siamang Gibbon Dee (F) Erie Zoo, Erie PA
-Western Lowland Gorilla Samantha Erie Zoo, Erie PA
-Reticulated Giraffe Mitch (M) Erie Zoo, Erie PA
-American Alligator Petri (M) Erie Zoo, Erie PA
-African Blackfooted Penguin Haley (F) & Others Erie Zoo, Erie PA


Aside from the places I have listed on here, I know that Mesker Park Zoo and Louisville Zoos have paintings available. Would anyone else know a good place aside from those already mentioned in this thread to find great animal artwork funding a good cause?

I highly recommend at least browing the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's website to see their animal art page. 50% of the proceeds from their Orang paintings go to conservation of palm forests, and when you buy one you get a really cool RSPO guide.
 
Duckbill, I love seeing you have a collection from the Erie Zoo. If I were to get a painting from there I'd probably want it from Joseph, the Bornean Orangutan since he's a favorite of mine there.

I love zoo art shows and I wish I could go to more! Unfortunately both Buffalo and Seneca Park Zoo have pushed back their shows to the fall, when they've had them earlier in the past. I'm not sure I'll still be in the area by then. Anyway, there are a couple of things I look for when I purchase animal art. A big factor for me is the animal who has done the painting. When I went to the Seneca Park Zoo show, there were paintings from education animals I worked with directly and then also the zoo's favorite animals. I purchased a matching set from the opossum sisters as they were my favorite animals to work with and also a collector's item as one of them died before the show and the other died a couple months after. Another thing I look for is the look of the painting. Aurora the polar bear at the Seneca Park Zoo has a nice smudging style with her paw. I think it also depends on the colors the zookeepers select for the animals and what appeals to me.

I know the Rosamond Gifford Zoo had their animal art pieces displayed on exhibit at the Everson Art Gallery. I wish I actually went to the gallery when the exhibit was on display as I would have had a better time.
 
I never knew until recently (when I found out via their facebook page) that Cuddles and Gigi the elephants at Western Plains Zoo can paint!
 
Blospz:

The only reason I did not try to acquire Orangutan Art from Erie Zoo is because of the number of Orangutan paintings I already have from St. Louis and Cheyenne Mountain, plus my younger brother owns one from San Diego Zoo. Erie is one of the few Zoos with a fairly extensive selection of paintings & prints, most that I have seen only cover Elelphants, Rhinos, and Apes which is fine because it makes for quality enrichment especially for those animals, but the diversity I now have makes for a great story and not a small amount of cash went towards conservation efforts!
 
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(this guide is made for reference, I figure many people on this forum know which species are endangered and what not but its part of a guide to show people who don't know as much about animals)

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Top center - Asian Elephant
Upper Left - Amur Tiger
Lower Left - Amur Leopard
Right - Northern White Cheeked Gibbon
 
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