Pig artist painted paintings worth $1 million (7 photos)

A pig named Pigcasso paints abstract paintings like a real artist.





A 700-pound African pig named Pigcasso is known for making abstract paintings. Her owner claims that the animal earned over $1 million from the sale of her works. Pigcasso paints pictures not even with a snout, as one might think, but with a brush.



In 2016, Pigcasso was a little piglet and was rescued from a slaughterhouse. Piggy was sheltered by animal activist Joanne Lefson and settled in the reserve. In 2019, the owner first noticed Pigcasso’s penchant for drawing, when the pig, while playing, gnawed and destroyed most of the objects in the stall, but treated the brushes with care. Joanne attached a used toilet roll to the handle of her brush and gave it to Pigcasso, who began to wave it around with her mouth.

Lefson then taught the pig to paint through "individual lessons that involved crawling around her barn on her hands and knees with a paintbrush in her mouth." Of course, the reward in the form of grapes helped.



The pig began to paint, holding a modified brush in his mouth and moving it back and forth across the canvas. When Pigcasso finishes her work, she marks the canvas with her snout. Sometimes the pig creates incredible shapes - a heart, initials and numbers.



Over time, Pigcasso gained fame - her work was commissioned, for example, by tennis legend Rafael Nadal and actor George Clooney. Pig artwork has also been featured on the dials of Swatch watches.



The paintings sell for up to $26,000 each, and the money raised goes towards purchasing food, salaries for reserve staff and paying for veterinary services. According to Joanne, Pigcasso actually saved the reserve with her earnings, Insider writes.