Congo the Chimp

Little is known of Congo's life before or after his Warholian "15 minutes of fame" in the late 50s.

According to Courant.com:

"Congo, who was born in 1954, produced about 400 drawings and paintings between the ages of 2 and 4. In 1957, animal behaviorist Desmond Morris organized an exhibition of chimpanzee art at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts, including works by Congo. Critics reacted with a mixture of scorn and skepticism, but Picasso is recorded as having owned a painting by Congo."

Morris recorded that Congo learned how to paint quickly, and within two years, he was creating abstract works within the boundaries of the canvas.

After his discovery by Pablo Picasso, Congo's art career took off; he found a dealer, moved to NY, and circulated in the artistic scene in the late 50s.

He is seen here looking on while Truman Capote danced with Marilyn Monroe. Capote is the one who introduced Congo to the concept of alcohol, particularly in the banana daiquiri form.

This led to disaster, artistic missteps (such as abandoning his tempura paint for his own feces) and eventually, abject alcoholism.

Even Picasso withdrew his support from his primitive protege. (Thought it must be noted, this was after a wag commented on how similar the famous artist looked to congo.)

Nobody knows what ever became of the chimpanzee, but the story once again illustrates how bad human society is for fun-loving primates.