Can Chimpanzees Sell Paintings?
By: Ben Kageyama
Tags: Animals, Nonfiction, Pets, History, Art

Can Chimpanzees Sell Paintings?

The European art scene was abuzz in 1964 with the introduction of a French avant-garde artist named Pierre Brassau. Pierre’s unique skill with the brush won over critics and art fans alike.

Although details of his persona were a little obscure, art connoisseurs came across four of his paintings at the Gallery Christinae in Göteborg, Sweden. A collector by the name of Bertil Eklöt even purchased one of Pierre’s work for about $650, adjusting for inflation. There were many paintings in the exhibit, but the Frenchman’s art stole the show.

Rolf Anderberg, a popular art critic at the time, had so much admiration for Pierre’s work that he had these words, which were promptly printed on the papers a day after he saw them:

“Brassau paints with powerful strokes, but also with clear determination. His brushstrokes twist with furious fastidiousness. Pierre is an artist who performs with the delicacy of a ballet dancer.”

Many people agreed with Anderberg’s sentiments, but not everybody. One critic condescendingly wrote that:

“Only an ape could have done this.”

And as it turns out, he was right. Pierre Brassau was, in reality, a West African chimpanzee who lived in a Swedish zoo.

The hoax

Pierre’s real name was Peter, and he was persuaded to partake in the hoax by a journalist named Åke “Dacke” Axelsson. Axelsson was an employee for a local tabloid who came up with the mischievous plan of placing a painting by a primate in the exhibition to test its attendants. The group wanted to determine if critics could really tell what “true avant-garde” art was.

When Axelsson visited the zoo, he convinced Peter’s caretakers to let the chimp play with some oil, brushes, and a canvas. At the start, the chimpanzee was more interested in eating his new toys rather than painting — his favorite flavor of paint was cobalt blue.

Fortunately, after a bit of nudging, Peter soon started painting as Axelsson intended. After a few hours, he finished several works of art, four of which met Axelsson’s standard of looking somewhat avant-garde. Many of his pieces centered around his favorite flavor, and I also suppose his favorite color, cobalt blue.

When the tabloid revealed the hoax, the local art scene was in shock. But this did not phase Rolf Anderberg, the critic who said Peter’s work could only be performed by a ballet dancer. Anderberg boldly stated that it was still the best painting in the exhibition despite the artist being a West African chimpanzee.

Other artistic chimpanzees

Peter was not the only painting primate recorded in history. In 2005, a museum’s art director mistakenly identified a painting as allegedly belonging to Ernst Wilhelm Nay, a Guggenheim prized artist. In reality, the painting was the work of a chimpanzee named Banghi.

Monkeys have their fair share of art as well. In 2011, a capuchin monkey named Pockets Warhol created 40 abstract paintings that his caretakers put on exhibition and sale for the public. The monkey’s paintings were bought by people all over the world and cost as much as $300 each. Proceeds from the sale were used to care for the Toronto animal sanctuary, Pockets Warhol’s humble abode.

In 2009, an artistic chimpanzee’s painting was auctioned to the tune of $25,000. The primate’s name was Congo, and he created around 400 pieces from 1954 to the end of his life. Reportedly, Pablo Picasso was a big fan of Congo’s work and purchased a number of his paintings to display on his studio wall.

So, can chimpanzees sell paintings? History says yes.