Butter sculptures at the Iowa State Fair
The butter cow, an Iowa State Fair staple since 1911 when J.K. Daniels sculpted the first one,[1] is located in the Agricultural Building. After sculpting her first butter cow in 1960, Norma "Duffy" Lyon sculpted all six breeds of dairy cows over the next 45 years, as well as Garth Brooks, a butter version of Grant Wood's American Gothic, the Peanuts characters, Iowa native John Wayne, Elvis Presley, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, various animals and a butter rendition of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper. Lyon was succeeded in 2006 by her longtime apprentice, Sarah Pratt.
John K. Daniels' butter cow at the 1911 Iowa State Fair.
Annual sculptures
| Year | Additional Butter Sculpture |
|---|---|
| 1996 | Grant Wood's "American Gothic" (honoring Iowa's Sesquicentennial) |
| 1997 | Elvis Presley |
| 1998 | An American eagle |
| 1999 | Duffy's own version of Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" |
| 2000 | Christian Peterson sculpting "The Gentle Doctor" statue (Petersen was Duffy's mentor and teacher.) |
| 2001 | John Wayne |
| 2002 | Peanuts Gang |
| 2003 | Harley-Davidson motorcycle (in honor of the company's 100th anniversary) |
| 2004 | Birthday cake in honor of the Fair's Sesquicentennial and an Iowa barn |
| 2005 | Tiger Woods |
| 2006 | "Mr. State Fair" Bill Riley (in honor of his 60th Fair) and Superman (Norwalk, Iowa, native Brandon Routh) |
| 2007 | Harry Potter |
| 2008 | Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson and a tribute to four Iowans who changed the face of the world's agriculture: Etta May Budd, George Washington Carver, Henry Wallace and Norman Borlaug. |
| 2009 | Tribute to the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon |
| 2010 | 50th anniversary of Dr. Seuss’ "Green Eggs and Ham" |
| 2011 | Replica of 1911 butter cow sculptures, including a calf, young boy and chicken. A sculpture of a young girl with a butterfly was added as a tribute to Norma "Duffy" Lyon. |
| 2012 | 75th anniversary of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs |
| 2013 | A Tribute to the Historic Lincoln Highway (and President Lincoln) |
| 2014 | 25th anniversary of Field of Dreams |
| 2015 | Monopoly's mascot Rich Uncle Pennybags - 80th Anniversary |
| 2016 | 50th Anniversary of Star Trek - Captain Kirk, Spock, Dr. McCoy, and Uhura |
| 2017 | 150th Birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder |
| 2018 | 100th Anniversary of John Deere's Waterloo Boy Tractor[2] |
| 2019 | 50th Anniversary of Sesame Street |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 |
| 2021 | TBD |
References
- "Butter Cow History".
- "Photos: Butter Cow ready for 2018 Iowa State Fair". Des Moines Register.
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