Small Bronze Flying Pig (Artist Stephen Maxon)

-- Another item from our online estate sale -- Today, artist Stephen Maxon is known for his large-scale bronze statues, but in the 1990s, he and his wife were selling small bronze pieces at high-end art shows. We’re selling one of the small flying pigs they created in 1999. Dimensions: 4 ½ inches high x 5 inches long x 8 inches wide. It’s solid bronze (weight: about 3 pounds). It’s named “Pigasus” (imprinted into the bronze). An anchor tattoo is imprinted onto one of the pig’s shoulders. A broken heart tattoo is imprinted onto the other shoulder. It’s signed by Maxon (imprinted into the bronze) and dated 1999. ABOUT THE ARTISTS Stephen Maxon was born in 1947, graduated from the University of Iowa with a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture (where he studied under Julius Schmidt, the grandfather of cast iron sculpture), bought some commercial foundry equipment and started his own backyard foundry. “A lot of foundries were closing around then, so I got a lot of equipment,” he said. 'The foundry was just set up in a chicken coop in the backyard of the farm.” For several years, he and his wife, Doris Park, concentrated on making small pieces that could be sold at art fairs (“quirky stuff to amuse ourselves and others”), but they eventually gave that up in favor of working on commissions, mainly statues of assorted historical figures. Eventually the foundry (Max-Cast) moved to Kalona, Iowa, to cast their own large-scale sculptures, as well as replica parts and sculptures for other artists. Maxon said most visitors to his shop are surprised at how long it takes to do things. “It's really labor-intensive and takes a long time to run stuff through here,” Maxon said. “It's not a push-button thing at all. It's pretty time-consuming.” Priced to sell quickly: $300