Congo (chimpanzee)
Species | Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) |
---|---|
Sex | Male |
Born | c. 1954 |
Died | 1964 (aged 9–10) London Zoo, London, England |
Cause of death | Tuberculosis |
Years active | 1956-1959 |
Known for | Learning to draw and paint |
Congo (1954–1964) was a
Biography and works
Congo was born in the wild in 1954. He learned to draw near the age of two, beginning when zoologist Desmond Morris offered Congo a pencil.[2] Morris said, "He took a pencil and I placed a piece of card in front of him. This is how I recorded it at the time, 'Something strange was coming out of the end of the pencil. It was Congo's first line. It wandered a short way and then stopped. Would it happen again? Yes, it did, and again and again."[2] Morris soon observed that the chimpanzee would draw circles, and had a basic sense of composition in his drawings.[2] He also showed the ability of symmetrical consistency between two sides of a sketch; when Morris drew a shape at one side of a piece of paper, Congo would balance the structure by making marks on the other half of the paper.[2] Similarly, if a color on one side contained blue for example, he would add blue to the other side as well to keep balance.[1]
He soon began painting; the patterns he made were never distinguished, pictorial images, but usually of a vague "radiating fan pattern" in the abstract impressionism style.[2] Between the ages of two and four, he produced about 400 drawings and paintings.[3]
Through that time, Congo developed a familiarity with his routine painting sessions with Morris. When a picture was taken away that he didn't consider complete, Congo would reportedly begin to scream and "throw fits".[1] Also, if the ape considered one of his drawings to be finished, he would refuse to continue painting even if someone tried to persuade him to do so.[1]
In the late 1950s, he made appearances on the British television show Zootime, which was presented live from the London Zoo by Desmond Morris.[1] He died at ten years of age in 1964 of tuberculosis.[2]
Reception
Media reaction to Congo's painting abilities were mixed, although relatively positive and accepted with interest. Spanish painter Pablo Picasso was reportedly a "fan" of his paintings, and hung one of the ape's pictures on his studio wall after receiving it as a gift.[1][4]
On June 20, 2005, Congo's paintings were included in an auction at
See also
- Animal-made art
- Pierre Brassau
- Pockets Warhol (capuchin monkey)
- Tillamook Cheddar (dog)
- List of individual apes
References
- ^ TimesOnline. London. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ^ Telegraph.co.uk. London. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
- ^ a b "Dead Chimp's Art Sells Big". CBS News. 2005-06-20. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ "S.F. Zoo Staff Mourning Death Of Pogo The Gorilla". CBS5.com. 2006-05-25. Retrieved 2006-05-28. [dead link]
- ^ "No Chump Change for Chimp Art". All Things Considered. NPR. 2005-06-21. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
- ^ "Paintings by Chimpanzee Outsell Warhol, Renoir at Auction". Wtopnews.com. 2005-11-29. Retrieved 2008-06-01.