Coyote Sculpture by Markus Pierson, 1987

Markus Pierson was born in 1961 and grew up in the small farming town of Grand Ledge, Michigan, where his father owned a popular restaurant. A self-proclaimed “racer,” Markus was the youngest and most challenging of the four Pierson children. While he was a student, an encouraging art teacher opened the door to Markus’ talent and deeply moved him. However, the Grand Ledge art scene was somewhat lacking, leading Markus to take on a number of odd jobs before stumbling upon accounting as a means of making a living. After a near-fatal battle with Crohn’s disease in early 1985, he declared the accountant “dead” and in his place was a man pursuing his dream of becoming a successful artist. The Coyote series was born in June 1986, after Markus heard the Joni Mitchell song “Coyote.” He loved it, played it often, and memorized the lyrics. The song’s central theme, a guy named “Coyote,” is a reckless, free-spirited Casanova type of guy—Pierson aspired to be the carefree novelist described in those lyrics. Then he did something he’d never done before or since: Markus drew a song. For the next six months, Markus painted billboards by day for a living and drew his Coyotes by night. On the wall above his desk, he taped these words: “No one works as hard and as smart – and it comes to nothing.” Within a year, he was leaving Artexpo in New York with engagements from 110 art galleries looking to represent his work.