Rachel (Gerber)

Rachel
Rachel
	The sculpture and bronze footprints in 2019
Artist	Georgia Gerber
Year	1986
Type	Sculpture
Medium	Bronze
Subject	Piggy bank
Condition	"Well maintained" (1995)
Location	Seattle, Washington, United States
	47°36′31″N 122°20′27″W / 47.60861°N 122.34083°W

Rachel, also known as Market Foundation Piggy Bank, Rachael the Pig, Rachel the Pig or Rachel the Piggy Bank,^[1]^[2] is an outdoor bronze sculpture of a piggy bank, designed by Georgia Gerber and located at Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It was dedicated on August 17, 1986, the market's 79th birthday,^[3] and is maintained by the Pike Place Market Foundation.^[1] Modeled after a pig (also named Rachel) that lived on Whidbey Island and was the 1985 Island County prize-winner. In 2006 Rachel received roughly $9,000 annually while in 2018, donations increased to $20,000.^[4] The money is collected by the Market Foundation to fund the Market's social services.^[5]^[6]

Description

The Smithsonian Institution describes Rachel as a "life-size, realistic figure" of a sow piggy bank.^[1] The Pike Place Market Foundation calls it the "mascot" of Pike Place Market.^[2] The bronze sculpture depicts a pig with a money slot on the top of its head and measures approximately 36 by 66 by 16 inches (91 cm × 168 cm × 41 cm) and weighs 550 pounds (250 kg).^[7]

Bronze footprints are on the sidewalk leading to the pig figure. One nearby plaque reads: "Market Foundation Piggy Bank. Made possible by a gift from Fratelli's Ice Cream, August 17, 1986".^[1] Another states that money deposited into the piggy bank benefits local human service organizations.^[1]

History

The sculpture was surveyed by the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! program in April 1995 and was deemed "well maintained".^[1]

On February 5, 2011, Rachel was struck by a taxicab and was knocked off its concrete base.^[7]^[8] The sculpture suffered cosmetic damage, including a 10 inches (25 cm) crack along the left ear and a dent on its left side, and was repaired at Gerber's studio on Whidbey Island. Rachel returned to the Pike Place Market on March 18, 2011, after a tour of Seattle landmarks in a vintage farm truck.^[9]^[10]

Rachel was joined by a "cousin" named Billie, installed in July 2011 at the Western Avenue entrance to the market.^[11]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Rachel, (sculpture)". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Rachel the Piggy Bank". Pike Place Market Foundation. Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
^ Tarzan, Deloris (April 1, 1986). "This little piggy goes to the market: Foundation picks pig, artist for permanent market metal sculpture". The Seattle Times. p. F1.
^ Berner, Alan (October 6, 2018). "Rachel the Pig pulls her weight at Pike Place Market". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
^ John Livingston, "Porcine Birthdays Reminiscent of Swine Times", Pike Place Market News, March 2006, p. 12 Archived 2008-12-02 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 16 October 2008.
^ "Pike Place Market Foundation". pikeplacemarket.org. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
^ ^a ^b O'Hagan, Maureen (February 6, 2011). "Rachel, Pike Place brass pig, survives crash—Rear-ended taxi careens into statue Rachel knocked off cement base". The Seattle Times. p. B2. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
^ "Taxi crashes into Pike Place Market pig statue". KING 5 News. February 5, 2011. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
^ Frause, Sue (March 5, 2011). "Whidbey Island's Rachel the Pig ready to return to the Pike Place Market". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
^ Payne, Patti (March 17, 2011). "Rachel the pig returns to her market post". Puget Sound Business Journal. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
^ "Celebrate as Rachel Turns 25 – Plus, Welcome Billie the Pig to Pike Place Market!". Downtown Seattle Association. July 25, 2011. Archived from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.