“Les Fauves” (French for “wild beasts”) were a group of painters in the
early twentieth century, led by Henri Matisse.1 Art critics used this derogatory term
to describe the group because of the artists’ use of bold colors, free form, and large
brush strokes.2 These same characteristics are applicable to describe much of the
work by animal artists.3 However, this paper attempts to demonstrate that animal
artists are far from mere “wild beasts.”