Parents Of This Child Art 'Prodigy' May Not Be Telling Us The Whole Story
Well-dressed adults mingled in an upscale gallery, glasses of champagne in hand. Abstract paintings lined the white walls, and the whole room was aflutter with excitement. No one could stop talking about the artist of the night — a child no more than three feet tall. This was Marla Olmstead, and as her legend grew in the fine art world, so did the questions surrounding her awe-inspiring creativity. Was this little girl concealing a big secret?
A Star Is Born
Marla was born at the turn of the millennium in Binghamton, New York. Early on, she enjoyed playing in her backyard, watching cartoons, and hanging out with her parents, Mark and Laura, as well as her younger brother, Zane. Then, at age 3, everything changed.
The Fateful Day
Her grandfather passed away. Afterwards, a grieving Mark Olmstead took up painting as a distraction. One day, in an attempt to occupy his daughter while he tried to focus, he offered her a paint brush of her own.
-375w.jpg)
Innocent Beginnings
According to her parents, there was something special about whatever she painted. The pieces, though mostly abstract, just seemed advanced for her age. On a whim, they hung up one of her paintings in a local coffee shop. This unleashed the floodgates.
Surprise, Surprise
Soon, coffee drinkers started to inquire about the price of the piece, which hadn’t even been for sale! Mark and Laura were in awe that someone seriously wanted to pay money for a work painted by their toddler. They sold Marla's art a whopping $253.
Basking In The Limelight
Things only snowballed from here. And at first, the attention was glowingly positive. The local art gallery asked Marla to hold a show. People attended and were enthralled by her work. Her talent, guests whispered, was undeniable.
The Belle Of The Ball
Soon, everyone wanted a Marla original. A local paper picked up the story of the child prodigy, and the kid at the center of this one captured the attention of some pretty important figures. Pretty soon, The New York Times ran a profile on her.
A Decent Proposal
The story focused a spotlight on Marla. Art collectors were now bidding tens of thousands of dollars on her work. Mark and Laura were taken aback, but also incredibly proud to know that virtual strangers saw the same talent in their daughter that they did. Quickly, they would learn to regret the whole thing.
Precocious Abilities
At her peak, as many as 200 people were lining up to get their own piece by the talented tot. Critics compared her to Jackson Pollock, the artist famous for his splattered paintings. While some were skeptical that Marla was all she was chalked up to be, the main narrative was one of adoration and praise.
The Straw That Broke The Camel's Back
Then, the 60 Minutes segment happened. This should have been just another step towards fame for the young artist, showcasing her talents and feeding into her widespread acclaim. In reality? It nearly ruined their lives.
The Biggest Opportunity Yet
Producers approached the Olmsteads in February of 2005, hoping to run a story on Marla. Mark and Laura agreed. The show did have one request, though: to install hidden video cameras that would film Marla as she painted. The world wanted to watch the artist work!
Controlled Experiment
The Olmsteads, again, agreed. So, 60 Minutes set up cameras, laid out a canvas, and asked Marla to paint. So, she did. For five hours, she worked on a piece that was supposed to showcase her skills. On the night that the segment aired, the family watched on TV.
Fear And Loathing In Binghamton
While watching the segment, Mark was furious. Laura was terrified. The show was not celebrating Marla, but rather, held an interview Ellen Winner, a woman specializing in child prodigies.
'A Normal Child'
“I saw no evidence that she was a child prodigy in painting," Ellen said, after watching footage of Marla. "I saw a normal, charming, adorable child painting the way preschool children paint, except that she had a coach who kept her going,” she admitted.
-375w.jpg)
Allegations
Viewers across the nation were shocked as Winner went on to say that the piece shown on 60 Minutes appeared to be “less polished than some of Marla’s previous works.” The implications were clear: not only was Marla not the prodigy she’d been made out to be, but she also may have had outside help.
The Tables Turn
The media went wild. Accusations flew, and the predominant line of thinking was that Mark, the amateur painter, was at least helping Marla complete her works. People felt lied to, and betrayed. The family watched as their fifteen minutes of fame turned into a virtual nightmare.
Second Chances?
Then, an opportunity arose that the Olmsteads thought may be their last chance to redeem themselves in the public eye. A documentarian by the name of Amir Bar-Lev approached them with an interest in doing a film on the situation. Mark and Laura hastily consented.
Innocent Until Proven Guilty
Bar-Lev insisted he was going into the production with an open mind; he wasn’t aiming to expose the family as frauds, but rather tell an objective account of things. Still, if he was going to do it right he’d need his own proof that Marla was doing the paintings independently.
Take Two
So, once again, a videographer was setting up a camera and laying out a canvas. Marla began to paint. However, after a while, the little girl began asking questions that raised some serious red flags.
Suspicions Grow
Throughout the duration of the tape she asked her dad Mark if he’d draw a face on the canvas, and at one point asked him to take over control of the brush altogether. This would prove to be the last straw for the family’s failing reputation.
All Grown Up
When the documentary aired, the Olmsteads refused to attend the premiere, claiming it was unfairly edited to portray them as dishonest scammers. Today, when a much older Marla is asked if she considers herself a child prodigy, she has an answer ready to go.
Sharing the Spotlight
“I don’t think of myself in that way at all,” Marla Olmstead said when asked about her past. She's forged on with her career, though the criticism has kept up to some degree. Still, it's not the first time a Pollock-like painting has come under fire in the art world.
An Intriguing Piece
It turns out you don't even have to be an artist to be labeled a fraud. Teri Horton didn't like the painting she found thrifting. There was, however, something about it that caught her attention. It was 1992, and she had just started her days as a self-proclaimed thrifter. She was stepping into a nightmare similar to Martha's.
Changing Gears
For 20 years, Teri worked as a big-rig driver. She was forced into retirement after a trucking accident sent her to the hospital. Not one to stay idle, Teri began to frequent thrift stores in search of hidden treasures. In fact, she'd already had some success.
Early Success
Once while scavenging, Teri came across a gorgeous watch that she immediately brought to a pawn shop. It turned out to be a genuine Ebel worth $2,000! This find made Teri all the more cocky. She vowed this would be just the beginning of her incredible discoveries.
Five Bucks Gone
The painting at the thrift store was a bit eccentric for Teri's taste. Still, she thought perhaps one of her friends might appreciate it. The $5 sale was quick and painless. Teri loaded the painting into her car, drove home, and called up her friend. However, there was a small issue.
Tight Squeeze
Her friend loved the painting, but it was too big to fit through her trailer door. Reluctantly, Teri kept the painting and hid it away. After all, it was a giant canvas with a bunch of splatters on it. Who'd want to see that? Years later, Teri decided to have a yard sale.
An Enthusiastic Shopper
Teri's yard sale featured an array of trinkets and antiques she'd collected over the years. None of the offers, however, were meeting her expectations. Teri noticed a woman approach the $5 painting, and she rushed over to make an offer. The woman gave her a rather unexpected response.
Potentially Worth Millions
The woman insisted that Teri's offer was too low. When asked why she felt that way, the woman told Teri she was an art teacher with a wealth of art history knowledge. Teri's painting, the woman claimed, could potentially be worth millions.
Who Is That?
Millions? Teri knew she had a good eye, but didn't think it was that good. Teri asked who might have made the painting. The woman claimed it was likely the work of the famous artist, Jackson Pollock. "Who the **** is Jackson Pollock?" Teri asked.
-375w.jpg)
Master of Abstraction
An American painter in the early 1900s, Jackson Pollock was famous for abstract expressionism, which essentially means a lot of splattering. Don't be fooled, though; he used different methods of pouring and splashing to create images that are... well, hard to explain. Take a look for yourself.
Artist Like No Other
Whether you appreciate Pollock’s work or not, which Teri did not, anyone can see how unique it is. There appear to be images of faces and shapes woven into the splatters that, upon closer inspection, simply disappear. Teri started to think this painting shouldn't be sitting in her driveway.
Dusting for Prints
Once home, Teri began researching this strange Pollock character. She saw the iconic work that the art teacher was describing and called her son into the room. With excitement, they hired a forensic expert to evaluate the piece. Thankfully, the expert was able to uncover some remaining fingerprints.
An Expert Opinion
While the prints were being tested, the expert took a look at well-known pieces by Pollock to find similarities. After hours of searching, he came to Teri with an astounding discovery: Although the prints proved undeterminable, both Teri and her son were overjoyed by the expert's proposition.
Striking Similarities
The expert believed Teri's $5 painting was remarkably similar to one of Pollock's most famous pieces, "No. 5, 1948." That title just sounded like gibberish to Teri. What she did understand, however, was the price it had sold for: $140 million. Even if Teri's painting made that, her family would be rich!
_06292020_35305-375w.jpeg)
Widespread Backlash
Unfortunately, art historians weren't in agreement. Many were insulted by Teri's insistence that this was a first draft of Pollock's world-famous painting. Every museum she brought it to rejected the artwork, claiming there were too many lingering questions. For example, how could the piece have traveled so far without ever being noticed?
A Brotherly Exchange
Teri lived in California, while Pollock had lived on the other side of the country. Perhaps, Teri suggested, this painting was a throwaway that Pollock gifted to his brother who also lived in California. However, this was unlikely, as Pollock's brother was aware of his sibling's fame. Then there was another glaring issue.
No Name
The painting lacked a signature, which would have been the key to its identification. Teri couldn't even backtrack the sales records as the thrift store had shut down years ago. With so many obstacles in her way, Teri had to think bigger.
Finding an Offer
Teri decided to hire a professional art dealer. This way, she figured she could get around the art snobs and nail down the price she deserved. Not long after, Teri received offers from private dealers as high as $2 million! But she couldn't get $140 million out of her head. She insisted on more.
Bigger Money
The painting soon caught the attention of a Saudi art collector. This time, Teri was offered $9 million! To her son's dismay, Teri denied this gargantuan offer without blinking an eye. She said, “I know what it’s worth and I’m not gonna sell for something less than it should go for.” So, what happened next?
What It's Worth
To this day, Teri is holding out for the best offer. She's appeared on talk shows, spoken out against art elitism, and become something of a pop sensation with the release of a documentary appropriately titled, “Who the $&% Is Jackson Pollock?” Director Harry Moses sides with Teri, as he explained to New York Times:
Holding Out Hope
“It’s a story of the art world looking down its collective nose at this woman with an eighth-grade education.” Think you'd hold out as long as Teri Horton or would you have spent that $5 on a coffee?
No comments: