PRETORIA, March 7. /TASS/. The famous pig artist named Pigcasso, who created about 500 paintings during her career, died in South Africa at the age of eight, her owner Joanne Lefson announced.

"There is much sadness that such an inspiring figure for welfare animals has passed, but we also celebrate a life well-lived and the profound difference she made," Daily Mail quoted the owner as saying.

Lefson, an animal rights activist from the South African city of Franschhoek, picked up Pigcasso from a slaughterhouse in May 2016 when she was four weeks old. The woman took the pig in and began teaching her to paint on canvas with paints, making a special brush for her that the pig held in its teeth. Pigcasso became internationally famous in 2016.

Two years later, Pigcasso became the first pig to be honored with a solo art exhibition. The first one was held in Cape Town, South Africa. In the years that followed, Pigcasso's work was exhibited in the United Kingdom, China, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Germany. In 2021, her painting entitled "Wild and Free" was sold to a collector from Germany for 25,000 dollars. This is a world record for artwork created by animals.

That same year, Pigcasso was diagnosed with arthritis, which led to her death three years later.