The butter cow has been an

Iowa State Fair The Iowa State Fair is an annual state fair held in Des Moines, Iowa in August. It began in 1854 and has been held on the Iowa State Fairgrounds since 1886. It is based in the state capital Des Moines, Iowa over an 11 day period in August. With ...

staple since 1911, when J.K. Daniels created the first cow. The popular exhibition, which consists of hundreds of pound of local butter applied to a wood and metal wireframe, is showcased in the coolers of the fairground's Agricultural Building.

History

The Iowa State Fair butter cow has had just five sculptors in its more-than 110-year history. Daniels was succeeded by J.E. Wallace, a sculptor and taxidermist, who also created butter sculptures for state fairs nationwide, including Florida, New York, and Texas. Wallace sculpted the State Fair's butter cows for 36 years until his death in 1956. Earl Frank Dutt was the butter cow's official sculptor from 1957–1959

Norma "Duffy" Lyon Norma Duffield Stong "Duffy" Lyon (July 29, 1929 – June 26, 2011) was an American farmer and artist nicknamed The Butter Cow Lady. She was known for creating elaborate butter sculptures at the Iowa State Fair from 1960 until 2006, when she r ...

petitioned fair officials to become sculptor for the 1960 Iowa State Fair; she would go on to have the longest tenure, sculpting the fair's butter cows and companion sculptures for the next 45 years. Lyon was succeeded in 2006 by Sarah Pratt, her apprentice of 15 years. Pratt is State Fair's butter cow sculptor as of 2022.

Companion sculptures

In 1994, Lyon won the fair's approval to create her first butter sculpture of a living person, country music singer

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

. Subsequent companion butter sculptures paid tribute to famous people, as well as historical, cultural, and current events., including entertainers

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

and

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

; athletes

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and Olympic gymnast

Shawn Johnson Shawn Johnson East (born Shawn Machel Johnson; January 19, 1992) is an American former artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic balance beam gold medalist and team, all-around and floor exercise silver medalist. Johnson is also the 2007 al ...

; a

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...

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, for the manufacturer's 100th anniversary; Grant Wood's ''

American Gothic ''American Gothic'' is a 1930 painting by Grant Wood in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Wood was inspired to paint what is now known as the ''American Gothic'' House in Eldon, Iowa, along with "the kind of people efancied shoul ...

'' and Leonardo da Vinci's ''

The Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

''; and the 50th anniversaries of

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and

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

References

{{reflist Culture of Des Moines, Iowa Iowa State Fair Lists of sculptures Butter