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This giraffe was originally started in the early fifties. It was left unfinished and found in Benny's Hillsdale studio. At twelve feet tall, it consist of hammered lead over a carved wooded form. I am selling this rare, previous unknown, recently discovered sculpture with all documentation and full reproduction rights or arraignments can be made to complete and cast in bronze or terrarisso.

View documents 1, 2, 3 ,4.

A world-famous sculptor and artist, Beniamino "Benny" Bufano was born in Italy, but lived most of his life in San Francisco. His artwork are to be found in museums and public places throughout America. The Bufano Scuplture Garden is located at Johns Hopkins University. The City of San Jose purchased Bufano's Brown Bear for the Center for the Performing Arts.

The City of San Jose, California, purchased in 1980, the above mentioned Bufano Black Bear for $70,000, which was cast from a mold in 1980. In other words, Benny Bufano NEVER even saw this piece and in essence it is a copy, and not an original, like the Giraffe.

This 12 foot Giraffe is Benny's 2nd largest original animal piece, 2nd only to his 15 foot Penguin which sits on Brotherhood Way in San Francisco, CA and is cast in colored concrete.

Collectors from around the world continue to seek out his unique artwork. In the past five years, a wealthy Silicon Valley Property owner (i.e. Apple Computer Headquarters), has been quietly been acquiring over fifty of Bufano's sculptures. It is rumoured that this Silicon Valley collector paid close to $1 Million for a stainless steel Bufano "Madonna", which stands next to his house on a spatial 150 acre property, reputed to be a 200 Million estate on the San Francisco peninsula.

Bufano is considered to be one of the great artists of the 20th century. Henry Miller wrote of Bufano, "He will outlive our civilization and probably be better known, better understood, both as a man and artist, five thousand years hence."