Portrait of the Gorilla Ambassador: Koko
Now available for sale to help save Koko's species!
by Richard Stone, the UK's Royal Portrait Painter
Dear Friend,
A few years ago, Richard Stone, the UK's pre-eminent royal portrait painter, decided to paint Koko, and donate the proceeds to The Gorilla Foundation's mission. We have been waiting for the right moment to "unveil" this magnificent work of art, and make it available to someone who has both the wherewithal and a strong interest in both an exclusive and valuable painting and the survival of our closest living species.
We invite you, as one of our treasured supporters, to view the painting, meet the artist, Richard Stone, and learn about the genesis and the vision behind the painting through both the following video and a comprehensive article by journalist Elizabeth Sobieski (see below).
As we approach the one-year anniversary of Koko's passing, and also what would have been her 48th birthday (on July 4th) the time seems right.
Meet Richard Stone: Koko's Royal Artist
As you can see, Koko loved being painted by Richard, and the feeling was mutual. As Richard says, it was the most memorable project of his life, and the one people ask about most (even more than the Queen or other of his royal subjects).
If you or someone you know have an interest in owning this unique painting, and possibly sharing it with a prestigious art museum like the Smithsonian, the National Gallery, or the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (on seasonal loan) then please contact us:
Once the original painting has been acquired (for a bid of at least $1M), Richard has agreed to produce a limited edition print of the painting (for approximately $500 each) to the first 1000 donors. Moreover, anyone who refers The Gorilla Foundation to a primary donor for the original painting will receive one of the prints as a thank you.
How will the sale of Koko's portrait help gorillas?
The proceeds from the sale of the original Koko portrait painting plus the subsequent limited edition prints will provide close to two million dollars of funding for The Gorilla Foundation's mission. This will enable us to complete the following Koko legacy-level projects to significantly increase interspecies empathy and wellbeing:
1)
Digitize the Project Koko Archive (at Stanford) so that it can be shared with other researchers and the general public, to advance our understanding of our fellow great apes and ourselves through interspecies communication;
2)
Release Koko's App to zoos, sanctuaries and schools throughout the US and Africa, so that many more gorillas and children can learn to communicate in sign language, read Koko's books, translate her videos, and foster new "Kokos" worldwide to and foster new "Kokos" to save the species from extinction.
3)
Plan for the use and expansion of our leased Maui land as the first natural sanctuary for gorillas who are neither suited for zoos nor for Africa; and model new video-based "zoos" that give basic personhood rights to gorillas.
I am so grateful to Richard Stone for painting Koko in such a way that she (and her power to change the world) will never be forgotten, and for donating the anticipated proceeds to the realization of Koko's Legacy (her language, love, and ability to engender interspecies empathy). Please match Richard's generosity with your own, if you are able, or help us make contact with an interested benefactor.
Sincerely,
Francine "Penny" Patterson, Ph.D.
President, CEO and Director of Research
The Gorilla Foundation / koko.org
