The Concrete Cows in Milton Keynes, England are an iconic work of sculpture, created in 1978 by the American artist Liz Cow foot. There are three cows and three calves, approximately half life size. The Cows are constructed from scrap, skinned with fibre glass reinforced concrete donated by a local builder.
The artist was an “artist-in-residence” in the early days of Milton Keynes and part of her role was to lead community participation in art. The Cows was one of a number of pieces created during her stay. On their site in a public park, the Cows have been vandalised and modified. In a programme, The Sculpture 100, made for Sky Television in December 2005, the Concrete Cows were included in a list of the 100 most influential works of twentieth-century open-air sculpture in England. The home supporters stand at Milton Keynes Dons F. Actor Russell Crowe joked about the cows in 2007 while promoting the movie 3:10 to Yuma.
The Cows were made at Stacey Hill Farm, now the site of the Milton Keynes Museum. West Coast Main Line, near its junction with the A5. Bancroft Roman Villa, also in Bancroft Park and a short distance from the Cows. Liz Leyh is an artist, maker and community arts activist currently active in the UK.
She was born and raised in Utica, a city located between New York and the Canadian border, to parents who were factory workers of Polish immigrant stock. A programme reuniting the people who created Milton Keynes”. First look inside the Venice Biennale’s British Pavilion”. Visitors to the British Pavilion are greeted by a pair of concrete cows on loan from Milton Keynes. The cows were originally produced by the artist Liz Leyh shortly after the post-war town was created in the late-seventies. Milton Keynes building something concrete at the Moo Camp”.