PHOTOS: Pigcasso the painter

Yahoo News Photo Staff
Updated
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, paints. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, paints on canvas at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa, on Feb. 21. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)

Since almost being sent to the slaughterhouse in South Africa in 2016, the sow known as Pigcasso has become a celebrity in the art world.

In recent years Pigcasso, named after the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, has managed to sell his paintings for thousands of euros.

Now the artist pig is collaborating with a brand of Swiss watch to present a limited edition and thereby celebrate the Chinese year of the pig, reported ArtNews.

The series called “Swatch Art Special” has the designs that Pigcasso made with his nose. According to Swatch, the animal creates “works of art that surprise and amaze as much as the 450 pounds of talent that runs through its pink fat.”

Pigcasso was rescued at 4 weeks of age from a South African meat company by Joanne Lefson, activist and founder of the Farm Sanctuary shelter near Cape Town, South Africa. Over time, he began to play and take an interest in his owner’s pencils and brushes. “It was the only thing that was not eaten,” Lefson told the National Geographic magazine, which describes the pet’s style as abstract expressionism.

Last year, Pigcasso had his first exhibition, “Oink!,” which traveled to European cities such as Paris, London, Berlin and Amsterdam.

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Pigcasso, a rescued pig, paints on a canvas at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, paints on a canvas at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, is seen in an organic vegetable garden after painting at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, is seen in an organic vegetable garden after painting at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, stands in front of the canvas she painted at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, stands in front of the canvas she painted at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, goes for a walk after painting at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, goes for a walk after painting at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, cools down in a mud bath after painting at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, cools down in a mud bath after painting at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, paints on a canvas at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, paints on a canvas at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, paints on a canvas at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, paints on a canvas at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, looks at a canvas after painting at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)
Pigcasso, a rescued pig, looks at a canvas after painting at the Farm Sanctuary in Franschhoek, outside Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Sumaya Hisham/Reuters)

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