When representatives from the Smithsonian of American Art visited the Iowa State Fair butter cow artist Sarah Pratt, she was overjoyed to just show them a few of her sculpting tools.

When she realized she’d be creating an entire cow to be featured in an installation, she thought she was dreaming.

“I still am pinching myself,” Pratt said. “Even though we’ve been in this process for over a year, I still feel like, ‘Is this really happening?’ This is truly amazing.”

The exhibition, tentatively titled “The State Fair,” aims to honor the 250th anniversary of the United States and will feature items from state fairs dating back to the mid-nineteenth century.

Pratt will begin sculpting the new cow in July 2025 before the exhibit opens in late August with a state-of-the-art refrigerator case in which the work will be displayed. The case in the museum allows visitors to view the sculpture from all four sides.

Pratt has sculpted butter cows for the state fair since 2006, when she inherited the role from Norma “Duffy” Lyon. In addition to the cow, Pratt also sculpts a complimentary piece every year, such as the Caitlin Clark sculpture in 2023.

Before the sculpting process even starts, Pratt extensively researches dairy cows and their movements. She visits farms with her daughters Hannah and Grace to observe cows and take notes for her art.

Pratt said she has a deep love for dairy cows and originally started apprenticing for Lyon as a farm aid, but when she realized she wasn’t much help with the real cows, she started helping create fake ones.

“I practiced with her for 14 years, and then there were different times throughout the apprenticeship where I could see her kind of leading me that direction,” Pratt said. “I never actually thought that it’d be something that I’d be able to or comfortable or confident enough to take over.”

The butter cow comprises a large frame of wood and steel mesh and then about 600 pounds of salted, low-moisture butter. Pratt reuses the butter for up to 10 years, sharing that the older the butter, the easier the sculpting. The butter is packed tightly in tubs and frozen until the next fair.

Pratt said her approach to the cow changes every year. She loves to sculpt different breeds and visit different dairy farms to capture farmers’ philosophies on caring for their animals.

RELATED: Iowa State Fair brings nostalgia, new experiences to fairgoers

“I love learning and love studying and love immersing myself in what I’m going to be sculpting,” Pratt said. “Before we landed on the traditional butter cow, we had explored a couple of different ideas that might be sculpted in butter.”

Beyond displaying her art in a Smithsonian, Pratt is honored to share a slice of Iowan culture on the national stage.

“I would have just been so honored to share a couple of my tools, right?” she said. “I would have been over the moon about that, so this feels just like a dream. It’s just so unbelievable.”

Possibly even more special to Pratt is the opportunity to share the experience with her daughters and work alongside them.

“To be able to be doing this project together with them feels like more than I could possibly ask for,” she said. “To be able to take that whole experience, the butter, the sculpting, the whimsy, the excitement of the Iowa State Fair, and to be able to do that in the context of working with my family is amazing.”

Iowa State Fair CEO Jeremy Parsons is also looking forward to the exhibit.

“The Fair is thrilled to share our iconic butter cow and Iowa sculptor, Sarah Pratt, with the entire nation as part of this Smithsonian Exhibit,” Parsons wrote in an email to The Daily Iowan. “Nothing compares to celebrating the Iowa State Fair in Washington D.C. as part of America’s semi quincentennial.”

Second-year University of Iowa student Hannah Maschino said she’s been visiting the Iowa State Fair since she was a little kid, and the butter cow has always been a large part of her experience.

“The butter cow was an obvious place you had to go if you went to the state fair,” she said. “I just feel like it’s a staple for Iowa.”

Maschino is also very excited about the chance for Iowa to gain recognition for its traditions and culture.

“I feel like Iowa is overlooked,” she said. “Knowing that this is going somewhere national, I feel like that’s really cool. The butter cow represents a lot of the agriculture that Iowa is known for.”