A Day Out (Horatio) — Marguerite Derricourt, Adelaide
Marguerite Derricourt · Horatio, the sitting pig of A Day Out, four life-size bronze pigs, 1999 · Rundle Mall, Adelaide, South Australia
Photo: Peripitus via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), from the Street Art Utopia archive. Commons dates it 16 February 2007; the camera says 16 February 2008. Full photograph shown; resized for display.
Horatio is the sitting pig in A Day Out, Marguerite Derricourt’s group of four life-size bronze pigs in Adelaide’s Rundle Mall. SA History Hub · City of Adelaide Checked Lord Mayor Dr Jane Lomax-Smith launched the pigs on 3 July 1999. SA History Hub Checked The other three are Oliver, Truffles and Augusta. City of Adelaide · SA History Hub Checked
4 things to know
- Named by the publicAfter the launch, Adelaide City Council and The Advertiser ran a competition to name the pigs. A plaque by each pig gives its name and who chose it: Jemmy Bridges named the sitting pig Horatio. SA History Hub Checked
- One of 126 entriesThe pigs came out of a national sculpture competition for the last stage of the Rundle Mall upgrade in the late 1990s. A panel considered 126 entries, and the council chose Derricourt’s proposal from the finalists. SA History Hub Checked
- Out of the cageSpeaking at the work’s 21st birthday in 2020, Derricourt recalled visiting a pig farm in New South Wales where the animals were kept in cages too small to turn around in: “The Rundle Mall pigs are free spirits at large in an urban environment.” City of Adelaide Checked
- Made to be touched“I really want people to touch them and interact with them,” Derricourt said. She was partly inspired by Florence’s bronze boar, Il Porcellino, and Oliver’s protruding tail was later modified as a safety precaution. SA History Hub Checked
Check-in guide
- 📍
- Rundle Mall, near Stephens Place, Adelaide, South Australia. City of Adelaide Checked
- 🐷
- The four pigs are together: Horatio sits, Oliver stands, one sniffs the ground and one has its snout in a rubbish bin. SA History Hub · City of Adelaide Checked
Sightings
- 1997
Commission won · Marguerite Derricourt
- 19993 Jul
Launched · SA History Hub
- 200816 Feb
Horatio photographed · Peripitus
- 2020
21st birthday statement · City of Adelaide
- 20263 Jun
All four photographed · Yu Chu Chin
Every stamp links to its source. Green stamps are dated evidence of the pigs in the mall: the 1999 launch and two photographs on Wikimedia Commons. Our photo by Peripitus is stamped with its camera date, 16 February 2008; its Commons description says 16 February 2007. The photo of 3 June 2026 sets the status stamp. Amber stamps are records: the 1997 commission and the artist’s 2020 statement.
On the record
A Day Out
“Jemmy Bridges called the sitting pig ‘Horatio’.”
A Day Out
“The Rundle Mall pigs are free spirits at large in an urban environment.”
The facts
- Title
- A Day Out; the seated pig is named Horatio. SA History Hub · City of Adelaide · Marguerite Derricourt Checked
- Artist
- Marguerite Derricourt. SA History Hub · City of Adelaide · Marguerite Derricourt Checked
- Year
- Commission won in 1997; launched 3 July 1999. Marguerite Derricourt · SA History Hub Checked
- Place
- Rundle Mall, near Stephens Place, Adelaide, South Australia. City of Adelaide Checked
- Medium
- Bronze; four life-size pigs. SA History Hub · City of Adelaide Checked
- Names
- Horatio (sitting), Oliver (standing), Truffles and Augusta, chosen in a public competition. SA History Hub · City of Adelaide Checked
- Which is which
- The History Trust names the sniffing pig Augusta; the City of Adelaide, which owns the work, names it Truffles. We lean to the city’s record. SA History Hub · City of Adelaide Conflicting
- Status
- Photographed in Rundle Mall on 3 June 2026. Yu Chu Chin photo, 3 Jun 2026 Checked
- Our photo
- Peripitus, CC BY-SA 4.0. Commons description: 16 February 2007; camera data: 16 February 2008. We lean to 2008: the file was uploaded on 18 February 2008, two days after the camera date. Peripitus photo, Commons Conflicting
Related
- When Sculptures Come Alive (12 Photos vol. 3): the SAU collection with Horatio
All sources (6)
Records
- SA History Hub: “A Day Out”, by Jude Elton, History Trust of South Australia. Launch on 3 July 1999, naming competition, 126 entries, Il Porcellino, the artist’s words.
- City of Adelaide, Experience Adelaide: “A Day Out”. Artist, bronze, four pigs and their names, near Stephens Place, the artist’s 2020 statement.
Artist
- Marguerite Derricourt: About. “A Day Out”, commission for the City of Adelaide, 1997 (installed 1999).
Photos
- Wikimedia Commons: Peripitus, “Rundle mall bronze pig”, CC BY-SA 4.0; dated 16 February 2007 in the description, 16 February 2008 in the camera data.
- Wikimedia Commons: Yu Chu Chin, “A Day Out in Rundle Mall, Adelaide in June 2026”, CC BY-SA 4.0; taken 3 June 2026.
Street Art Utopia
- Street Art Utopia: When Sculptures Come Alive (12 Photos vol. 3), 19 October 2026. The SAU post with this photo.
Artwork File · Last checked 19 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files