"Your Next Get-Rich-Quick Scheme: Become an Artist"

From Gawker:

Lauri Apple —
Planning on attending the spring art auctions this week? You might want to bring a spare suitcase-full-of-cash or two: At least a dozen pieces are priced in the $20 million range, including works by Picasso, Monet (pronounced Mo-neyyy), and Maurice de Vlaminck (he was a Fauve). But how can a poor struggling artist like yourself get that kind of dough?

Apparently, art buyers are feeling "flush and giddy" these supposedly recessionary days, which is making business boom at Sotheby's and Christie's (and their lesser-known Staten Island counterpart, Lisa Ann's Auctionz and Collectiblez). Though it took a dip in 2009, the market's quickly recovered, says the Wall Street Journal:

As a result, the art market's current state, while off from peak levels, still feels slightly breathless. Record prices are being paid for individual favorites like Pablo Picasso, whose "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust" sold at Christie's last May for $106.5 million, the most ever paid at auction for a work of art.

Where's the money coming from, if nobody in America has any money anymore? Well, China's spending on art has "nearly quadrupled" in the past five years. So there's a clue.

Hmmmm, wouldn't you like to be able to quadruple your spending on art? Of course, but how? Well, one way is to become one of the artists whose work goes for high prices. "Oh," you say, "but to make the serious bank you have to be dead, like Picasso and that de Vlaminck guy." It's true that most of the big-selling works are by artists who departed from earth many years ago—but not all of them! For example, Damian Hirst's fortune is worth around $388 million.

"Oh," you add, "but I can't be an artist, I have no talent." Pshaw! Lacking talent has never stopped anyone from becoming a successful artist. For example, Damian Hirst's fortune is worth around $388 million....MORE