CHEETA APES THE MASTERS IN ARTWORK.

Byline: GIDEON RUBIN

Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- The critics call Cheeta's artwork "Ape-stract" for its strikingly modern look and, oh, because the artist, a retired Hollywood star, is a chimpanzee.

Cheeta, who appeared in 12 Tarzan movies in the 1930s and '40s with Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan, is spending his golden years with a paintbrush and canvas in a Palm Springs retirement home that bears his name and houses other nonhuman primates.

At 75, Cheeta is the world's oldest living chimpanzee, according to the Guinness Book of Worlds Records, and the star of an arts show that opens today in Lancaster. Cheeta's works are featured in "Walk on the Wild Side -- A Wildlife Art Exhibition," which will run through Aug. 5 at the Lancaster Museum/Art Gallery.

The furry star's paintings will be displayed alongside 20 or so works by human counterparts depicting realistic wildlife art.

Dan Westfall, who heads the Creative Habitats and Enrichment for Endangered and Threatened Apes (C.H.E.E.T.A) Primate Sanctuary, said he introduced Cheeta to art when the chimp moved to the sanctuary in 1992. But aside from buying supplies and showing him how to push a brush across the canvas, Westfall said Cheeta trained himself.

"Most celebrities when they retire move to Palm Springs and take up golf. He doesn't golf, so we just thought, maybe he'll paint," Westfall said.

Cheeta doesn't monkey around; he paints bright colors in bold strokes. Although no Michelangelo -- Cheeta whips out a half dozen paintings in less than a half hour, Westfall says -- he is an artist of note, at least within animal circles.

Three Cheeta paintings hung 12 years ago in the National Museum of London.

"There's a lot of other apes that paint at zoos, but he's the most famous one," Westfall said.

Westfall said Cheeta's art recently appeared in a magazine alongside fellow abstractionist Jackson Pollack.

"I liked Cheeta's better," Westfall said.

Although Cheeta's art has no underlying social message, it supports a cause -- whether he knows it or not.

Cheeta's work can be purchased for a minimum donation of $125 at his own Web site: cheetathechimp.org. All proceeds benefit the sanctuary, which provides shelter and recreation for retired showbiz primates.

Westfall said he's already sold hundreds of Cheeta's paintings.

"They're all bright and colorful," Westfall said. "That's what people like."

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(color in AV edition only) Cheeta, who appeared in 12 Tarzan movies in the 1930s and '40s with Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan, is spending his golden years with a paintbrush and canvas in a Palm Springs retirement home that bears his name and houses other nonhuman primates. Cheeta is now 75.

Frederic Neema/Special to the Daily News