Chimp's paintings feature in London auction

Congo the chimpanzee's paintings to feature in London auction
at 15:01 on May 11, 2005, EST.

LONDON (AP) - Congo the chimpanzee led a brief artistic career and enjoyed little critical success, despite the patronage of his contemporary and fellow painter Pablo Picasso.

But nearly half a century after Congo was active, some of his paintings are going on sale at a prestigious London auction house alongside works by Andy Warhol and Renoir.

Three tempera on paper paintings - brightly coloured compositions of bold brushstrokes that resemble abstract artworks - feature as a single lot in the sale of Modern and Contemporary Art at Bonhams on June 20, the auctioneer said Wednesday. The value of the lot is estimated at between 600 and 800 pounds (US$1,130-1,500).

Bonhams said it believed the auction would break new ground.

"I would sincerely doubt that chimpanzee art has ever been auctioned before," said the auction house's director of modern and contemporary art, Howard Rutkowski.

"I don't think anybody else has been crazy enough to do this. I'm sure other auction houses think this is completely mad."

Congo, who was born in 1954, produced some 400 drawings and paintings between the ages of two and four. It wasn't immediately clear if he was still alive, a Bonhams spokeswoman said.

In 1957, animal behaviourist Desmond Morris organized an exhibition of chimpanzee art at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts, including works by Congo. Critics reacted with a mix of scorn and skepticism, but Picasso is recorded as having owned a painting by Congo, Bonhams said.

"Paintings by apes may be seen as humorous or as a derisive commentary on modern art," the auction house said in its lot description. "However, Morris' studies were a serious attempt to understand chimpanzees' ability to create order and symmetry as well as to explore, at a more primeval level, the impetus behind our own desires for artistic creativity."

Congo quickly learned how to handle a brush and pencils, instead of knocking them over or trying to eat them. He painted within the boundaries of the sheet of paper, never allowing the paint to spill over the edge, and appeared to know when he had finished a painting - by refusing to pick up his brush or pencil over the work.