A Long Island artist claims in a suit that his once-famous sculpture of a winged unicorn has again taken flight — in an ad for Toyota.
More than 30 years ago, James Croak’s “Pegasus, Some Loves Hurt More Than Others,” depicted a mighty pegasus busting through the roof of a red and blue hot rod.
It sold more than 16,000 copies.
So when Toyota started using a distinctive image of a bright pink, winged unicorn sitting on top of a RAV4 in its ads, Croak, 63, of Sag Harbor, requested a fee for the use of the image from ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi.
When the company brushed him off, he filed a federal suit in Manhattan.
Saatchi & Saatchi did not respond to requests for comment.