The colourful sculptures were on display at the New Zealand Agricultural Show in Christchurch last month, in a new Cows in the Park initiative to promote rural art and raise money for Surfing for Farmers wellness programme.
Listed online, the cows failed to meet the reserve price and initially were not sold.
The auctions attracted a high bid of $4100 for Chris Solly’s cow after 22 bids, $6800 after 30 bids for Haruko Furukawa’s cow, $7100 after 30 bids for Anne McDonald’s cow, $6528 after 17 bids for Wongi Wilson’s cow and $3300 after 17 bids for Marshall Wang’s cow.
Show general manager Tracy Ahern revealed an unspecified work of art was sold afterwards.
They were listed after another fibreglass cow painted by artist Dean Johnstone made $5000 under the hammer during the November show.
The show’s board was working on a strategy to increase the fundraising potential for the remaining cows. All proceeds would go to Surfing for Farmers.
Mrs Ahern said there were no regrets with listing them online, as the auction had served its purpose to gain exposure for the artists and the fundraiser cause.
She said they were considering their options which could include a charitable event or a fundraiser to tie in with the show’s 160th birthday next year.
They were not prepared to accept a low price for the cows as it might undervalue the art if they repeated the fundraiser again.
"If we were to put a dollar value on their cost of donated time and effort it would be up to $15,000 cost per cow and the reason we got to [their lower cost] was the community buy-in."
Each cow is believed to have cost about $5000 after they were made by Mike Shaw Fibreglass in Hamilton at a reduced rate and shipped to Christchurch.
Mrs Ahern said the paint was donated and the artists had been generous with their time and commitment.
