Moo-mania spreads to Strip

Stephen Curran

Thursday, Aug. 22, 2002 | 9:30 a.m.

The lobby of a five-star hotel is the last place most people expect to see cows grazing.

But that's exactly what they'll see when they enter the Four Seasons on the Strip -- although the cows will be the 90-pound fiberglass variety painted in colors that don't exist in nature.

The vibrantly painted and decorated creatures are part of the CowParade, a fund-raiser designed to raise money for the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which funds programs for underprivileged Las Vegas children.

Las Vegas is the latest city to be visited by the artwork, said CowParade president Jerry Elbaum. The program was started in Switzerland in 1999 as a means to bring the art community into the city.

Since then, the program has expanded to include a dozen cities in North and South America and Europe.

"We're such a small company it's hard to believe," Elbaum said of the Hartford, Conn.-based operation. "We only have six employees."

The cows are sponsored by local businesses who commission artists to paint the life-size cows in a manner a CowParade panel sees fit, Elbaum said. To date, they have turned down only one submission.

The Four Seasons has already sponsored two of the faux mammals, a cow painted like a traveling businessman called "Belle, A Cow For All Seasons," and the Valentine's Day-themed "Moo-cho Amour."

Come February, the cows will be auctioned through Sotheby's auction house. The average bid for a cow at a Chicago auction in 2000 was $25,000, he said.

The most expensive cow to date cost $110,000, said CowParade Creative Director Marge Abrams.

The paint jobs come from both experienced and novice artists, he said. One cow was painted by pediatric cancer patients at a Las Vegas hospital, with the proceeds going to that unit.

"That is what I'd really like CowParade to be about," Elbaum said.

Henderson artist Roy Purcell recently completed his cow to be auctioned in Las Vegas. The artist, best known for his work with desert landscapes, called his latest work "Cow-ctus."

For Purcell, painting a cow was an opportunity to try his work on a different kind of canvas while raising money for a good cause.

"I think it's great," Purcell said. "It benefits everybody -- the kids and the art community."

Among well-heeled collectors, the cows have become something of a status symbol.

To date, Las Vegas magicians Siegfried and Roy have commissioned an artist to paint bovine replicas of themselves; former Beatle Ringo Starr has five cows "roaming" his England estate and talk show host Oprah Winfrey has purchased a cow, Abrams said.

"You go out into the Hamptons and you can see them in people's yards," Abrams said of the upscale communities on New York's Long Island.

There is even a cow emblazoned with England's Queen Elizabeth's insignia positioned outside Buckingham Palace, she said.

The allure of the cows lies in their innocent quality, Elbaum said, a quality which will allow the work to endure.

"It's fun art," Elbaum said. "I think it'll be here long after I leave this planet."

That innocence is exactly what drew Purcell to the charity.

"It's a hell of an interesting idea," Purcell said. "There's just something humorous about a cow."

For more information on the CowParade, visit www.cowparade.net, and to learn about the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, visit www.agassifoundation.org.