7 Animal Artists Whose Works Have Been Exhibited and Sold for Big Money

Nature is really a surprise box. Throughout history, we have always imagined that only human beings were capable of creating works of art. Fortunately, we were wrong! We recently discovered that in addition to being able to hold a brush and paint wonderful pictures, some animals are capable of creating critically respected works of art that sell for a lot of money.

Many of these animals have their paintings in important exhibitions and some of them have already been sold for millions of reais. That’s why the awesome.club wants to tell more details about them and their trajectory in the art world.

Dogs are considered the most faithful pets people can have. But none compares to an American dog named Tillamook Cheddar, who, during his 14 years of artistic life, participated in more than 20 solo exhibitions in the United States and Europe. According to her official website, the pictures of the dog (of the terrier breed) are characterized by sharp lines and effects produced through the use of teeth and claws. In addition, there are subtle and delicate footprints and traces in her works. Tillamook passed away in 2014, but remains one of the most famous artists in the world.

At a zoo in Thailand, an elephant named Hong stunned the world with amazing traits created with its trunk. The process was filmed in detail and shared on the Internet. The video shows how Hong manages to paint the figure of an elephant with a beautiful flower. At the end, he gets a round of applause and sweets made with sugar cane and bananas.

Currently, his works are sold on the official website of the Gifts With a Cause foundation, linked to third sector projects and the money is used to help protect Asian elephants, which are threatened with extinction. and survive only in captivity.

In the 1950s, a chimpanzee named Congo wowed art critics with his spectacular abstract works. They qualified his work as lyrical and impressionistic. Pablo Picasso himself even bought his paintings and other sacred monsters of painting, such as Salvador Dalí and Miró did not spare praise for his features.

Congo is estimated to have painted over 400 paintings. To further develop his skill, he received instruction from biologist Desmond Morris, who took notes on the behavior of his peculiar student, later published in his book The Biology of Art.

More than 40 years have passed since Congo’s death. In 2005, three of his paintings were auctioned at the Bonhams auction house, in London, for a total value that reached the equivalent of 100 thousand reais. The collector who acquired the works stated that they resemble Kandinsky’s early works; so he decided to include them in his collection.

If Congo’s history has impressed you, get ready to learn details about Koko’s life. This gorilla became famous thanks to a video in which she communicates using sign language. Some people say that she could carry on complex conversations because she mastered over a thousand words. Koko, who passed away last year at age 46, would have been one of the most gifted non-human animals in history.

But in addition to having a good and deep conversation with her caregivers, she also mastered the use of the brush and created beautiful paintings. And, like many of us, she decided to adopt a cat. More proof that not only humans can think abstractly or care for pets.

In a town in South Africa, a little pig was about to be euthanized when she was saved by activist Joanne Lefson. During the first months of contact, Joanne noticed that she was good with pencils and colors. When she came across the beautiful features created by the pig, the woman decided to name her Pigcasso, in honor of the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso.

In January 2018, its first exhibition was held in Cape Town, called ‘Oink’. After the event, Pigcasso began touring several countries in Europe. Currently, his works are sold for values ​​equivalent to more than 4 thousand reais and always receive positive reviews from specialists. On the pig’s Instagram account you can appreciate much of his work, as well as photos and videos about the creation process in which Pigcasso takes the brush with his snout and starts creating.

The resemblance to humans makes it easier for apes to acquire artistic skills. A good example was a bonobo (a related species of chimpanzee) called Panbanisha. Like Koko, she was able to communicate with sign language and understood symbolic and linguistic expressions of humans and other apes.

In addition to communicating, Panbanisha also knew how to use a brush to paint. She died in 2012, but pictures of her can still be seen on the Internet. One of them was sold for the equivalent of more than 4 thousand reais on eBay.

Cholla was a horse artist who exhibited his works in different cities in the United States, such as San Francisco and New York. In 2009, he had his first solo exhibition in Venice, Italy. His works were compared with those of Jackson Pollock and therefore caused strong interest on the part of specialized critics.

His fame greatly increased thanks to a painting contest in which the judges were completely stunned to discover that the winner was not a person. As there was nothing in the regulation to that effect, his application was accepted and he became the fourth most sought after animal by collectors of non-human works of art in the world.

Cholla passed away in March 2013, but his works can be found on the official website, where, in addition to the paintings themselves, you can find photos and videos of this wonderful artist horse.

What did you think of the animal-artists we showed? Would you buy a work of art from an animal? Share your opinion and tell us which work impressed you the most.