A Beautiful Work Of Art! Painted By A 4-Year Old!

It was one of the biggest stories in the art world almost twenty years ago: beautiful paintings created by a 4 year old – but was it true?

An acclaimed documentary cast doubt on whether Marla Olmstead, the child prodigy profiled in the film actually created the paintings that were attributed to her…

My Kid Could Paint That! – 2007 Director: Amir Bar-Lev

This riveting documentary tells the story of Marla Olmstead, who began painting just before her second birthday in early 2002. According to her father Mark, he originally gave her paint to divert her from distracting him from his own painting – although he did it as a hobby only.

Here is the trailer:

Within two years, the now four year old Marla – from Binghamton New York – became the sensation of the art world for her abstract artwork, which sold for thousands of dollars per piece. 

Through it all, Marla’s parents, Mark Olmstead and Laura Olmstead, are shown just wanting what was best for their daughter. 

But then, when the media discovers her, some began to question whether Marla was the real artist behind the work. 

The film’s Director has a few moments in the film when he questions what he may have uncovered:

Doc Director Amir Bar-Lev: [when Laura starts crying on camera on being doubted] “I’m sorry that I brought this into your house.”
Laura Olmstead: [bitterly] “It’s documentary gold.” 

Was Marla Maligned?

The paintings are gorgeous – but the movie is gut-wrenching. As the documentary unfolds, the filmmaker begins to ask uncomfortable questions about the art.

Who painted them? Was it only Marla? Was her father involved at all? Watch the movie and try to make up your own mind. It’s a great documentary that raises alot of questions – without a definitive answer was it fair to do so?

You see, it will break your heart to see what the family goes through as a result of Marla’s fame and the backlash that ensued.

I loved this film, which troubled me quite a bit – and I really want to know what Marla is doing now – it’s hard to know – first, there was a great update from Press Connects in 2015:

Here is a short excerpt from that “Press Connects” article:

Sitting in the living room of her Binghamton home Marla Olmstead laughs loudly when asked if she considers herself a prodigy. Then she answers with a quick “no.”

“I don’t think of myself in that way at all,” she says.

A decade ago, though, that was the term — along with wunderkind and whiz kid — being thrown about to describe the 4-year-old who became a media darling when her abstract and colorful paintings sold for thousands of dollars.

That’s pretty heady stuff for a toddler with a paint brush and eye for color. But a New York Times profile, television appearances and other notoriety seems to have left little impression on Marla. “I really don’t remember anything,” she says.

This is a great article – while Marla still paints, her parents aren’t selling her work right now and she hasn’t done a major art show in several years…as the article goes on to note:

Art is still a part of Marla’s life. She has completed eight to 10 paintings over the last two years and takes lessons from Alisha Sickler-Brunelli, the sister-in-law of Anthony Brunelli, and is working on more realistic styles and techniques.

Anthony Brunelli says he still gets six to eight inquiries a year about Marla’s work and could have sold some paintings for good amounts of money. But Marla’s parents have vetoed the idea, wishing to keep her out of the spotlight.

Looking back, Brunelli admits to being naïve a decade ago. “I expected interest, but I didn’t expect the firestorm to come,” he says.

A terrific story by Press Connect – and wikipedia has this to say about Marla, now 24 years old:

Marla Olmstead’s work has been offered at auction multiple times, with realized prices ranging from 123k USD to 308k USD, depending on the size and medium of the artwork. Since 2022 the record price for this artist at auction is 308k USD.

So, as of two years ago her work was still being auctioned, but there is little more online I can find about her. 

I’d love to know more about her, because the artistry on display was impressive indeed – and while there is a website under her name, when I went to it I was warned it could be infected with malware, so I didn’t open it.

Let me know if you’ve seen this terrific documentary, or if you can share any additional information on Marla’s work and current artistic endeavors. I truly hope that she got the credit she deserved for her artistic endeavors, and it’s a troubling story to be sure.

I’m a fan of documentaries that explore worlds I am unfamiliar with – and lately there have been many focusing on what is real and what isn’t:

“The Inventor” told the story of Elizabeth Holmes, accused on falsifying clinical trials on a new method for testing blood…she ultimately was convicted – click here to see that riveting story:

And what about the great live concert scam ever?

This is a dynamite documentary about a proposed music festival on a Caribbean island – you have to see it to believe it! The trailer and much more is here:

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Categories: Art, Cult Movies, documentary films, Great Films, Memoirs, Movies, Pop Culture, Talent/Celebrities

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