Being a professional artist used to be a low-paying hobby. In fact, there was even a time when making money out of it was practically impossible.
Vincent van Gogh, the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter known for his famous artwork “Starry Night,” actually just sold one painting in his entire life. He only made money out of his craft once! And he was not alone—many other world-famous artists like him stayed broke during their lifetime only to have their artwork make millions of dollars after they were gone.
Times have changed so much. Thanks to the growing demand in the industry, artists all over the world have the opposite fate. They, fortunately, find where they are good at and earn money out of it while they are still alive. They also no longer need to settle for low-balled offers.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at artists who suddenly got rich overnight.
1. Damien Hirst
The controversial sculptor, painter, and installation artist Damien Hirst is probably the world’s most commercially successful artist of today. He is among the leading members of the United Kingdom postmodernist art group called Young British Artists.
While today’s artists are emerged in designing aesthetically beautiful art crafts, Hirst is more fascinated by death. The renowned artist first rose to prominence back in 1990 for his masterpiece of a series of preserved dead animals floating in formaldehyde. The strangeness of his artworks is what makes them grab people’s attention.
Inspired by the Irish-born British figurative painter Francis Bacon, Hirst’s most recognized works of avant-garde includes A Thousand Years, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, and a glass tank of formaldehyde containing tiger shark.
Because of the peculiarity of Hirst’s strange genius, many buyers are flocking to his crafts, allowing him to make a decent living through his artworks.
He became so rich because instead of following the steps of the most artist who sells their work to a gallery, he decided to put it on sale directly through his self-orchestrated exhibition Beautiful Inside My Head Forever. In just a matter of two days, he managed to earn $198 million, making him a multi-millionaire.
2. Banksy
Banksy is a popular name even among people who are not really into the arts. Perhaps this is because Banksy is more like a movement instead of artistry.
Although this artist is hiding under his pseudonym, he still managed to transcend boundaries and make news around the world. The art craft that brought him into the pillar of success is called The Girl with a Balloon, which he sold for $1.4 million back in October 2018 at Sotheby’s auction.
The painting was supposed to be cut into shreds to show that it’s okay to spend millions of dollars on a piece of art. Yet, the paper shredder got stuck amidst the process, not completely shredding the art piece. Instead of losing its value, the half-shredded painting has increased in value even more.
The buyer renamed the artwork “Love is in the Bin” and put it on sale on the South of East contemporary art sale. It was sold last October 2021 for $29.5 million, making it one of the most expensive artworks that have ever been sold.
3. David Choe
Some millionaires and artists managed to make seven figures through penny-pinching and hustling, while others achieved it by wits. David Choe is the latter.
Choe is a street artist famous for his explicit and colorful imagery. Since most graffiti artist often hides behind the shadows doing their own thing, he thought he would be following the same path. But it seems like life had other plans for this street artist. A better one.
Back in early 2000, when Sean Parker was still the president of the then-fledging Facebook startup, he hired Choe to paint a mural on Facebook’s original headquarters in the Silicon Valley. Initially, he asked for $60,000 to do the job, but Parker gave him two options.
Parker offered Choe payment of either $60,000 cash or $60,000 worth of company stock. By that time, Facebook was still a joke, and there was no guarantee that he would be making money if he chose the stock option. Yet, he took the risky decision regardless because Parker managed to convince him that it would benefit him more in the future.
Choe’s $60,000 grew insanely to $200 million, making him a multi-millionaire.
4. Jeff Koons
Almost every one of us grew up enchanted by balloon animals, but Jeff Koons took on the challenge to reignite everyone’s fascination with animal-shaped balloons— only that he has taken it to the next level by making them giant-sized. Koons’ balloon works are made up of metal.
Jeff Koon’s “Balloon Dog” was sold at the Christies New York Auction House for $58.4 million in 2013. This record-setting artwork purchase is just the latest sale to ensure Jeff Koons as an artist preferred by the ultra-rich.
5. Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns, an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker, holds the title for the most costly painting by any living artist. Many people in the art industry consider Johns as the father of pop art because of his unique way of expressing ordinary things.
However, his pop artistry isn’t the reason why he made it into this list. Jasper has been continuously fascinating people with his remarkable projects throughout his career, giving him a very solid place in the market.
The craft that made him reach is probably one of the simplest paintings that you would ever see. The artwork was called a “flag.” Until now, Flag is being sold for $35 million.
6. Gerhard Ritcher
Gerhard Ritcher is a German painter known for his hardly incomprehensible art, creating art pieces that are blurred. According to Ritcher, “I blur things to make everything important and unimportant.”
The German’s view of his art might seem a bit outlandish, but he has garnered so much attention regardless. In 2020, Ritcher’s artwork called Abstractus Build was sold for a whopping $27.6 million.
7. Takashi Murakami
Some artists made it big by going all out, while others have managed to rose by playing safe. Murakami is the first type. He loves going all out with his crafts, taking steps too far with what he creates.
Murakami’s artworks are so unique to the point that he was the only visual artist who made it on the list of 100 Most Influential People in 2008. The art piece that earned Murakami a lot of money was called My Lonesome Cowboy, which was sold for insanely $13 million.
8. Anish Kapoor
Some artworks only appeal to those who are really into art, and people who aren’t really engrossed with it would have a hard time seeing art in certain pieces. Anish Kapoor is an artist that entirely goes beyond this.
Kapoor was the one who created the Chicago bean, which made him $23 million. He was so adept at creating simple but embellished art that he sometimes didn’t even have to name it. One of his pieces, named Untitled, was sold for $3.8 million in 2003. Having his art piece sold one after another, Kapoor has become a sensation in the art world.
