As Generation Z ages out of childhood and into adulthood, we are entering the workforce en masse. However, some of us have been earning a living since before we even hit double digits. Meet four child art prodigies who found fame at a young age and who have honed their skills over the last decade to become some of the leading professional artists of our generation.
However talented they might have been as children, every single one of them has clearly worked very hard to improve the skills that passion allowed them to seed and develop early. They have put in the work for the last ten years, and I think we should all keep an eye on where they’ll take art in the decade to come.
Autumn de Forest b. 2001
Now let’s start this off with a bang! Meet Autumn de Forest, a young painter from the USA. She’s the oldest to feature on this list and has arguably seen the most “traditional” success of the four. Coming from a long line of artists, de Forest began her artistic journey at five. By seven, she was selling her work for sizable sums, and by her early teens, she had made over seven million from her art, roughly a decade before the time of this article’s composition.
However, de Forest herself is arguably most well known for the painting she did for the late Pope Francis (pictured below), as well as the work she produced for Disney.
Unlike the other three artists who made this list, de Forest can be said to be a “pure” painter. Her work portfolio consists exclusively of acrylic and oil paint, or melted wax on canvas. She works with various mediums, like every other artist on this list, but her work cannot be categorized as multi-disciplinary, since she has not publicly experimented with other forms of art besides painting. Regardless, her work certainly has not suffered for it. Her art is beautiful, and she has clearly maintained a passion for her craft that is expressed in her interviews. This trait is shared among all the artists here.
De Forest continues to make and sell art today, with the above being her most recent publicly shared work. It is clear that she has put considerable effort into honing her craft. We can all look forward to where she’ll be taking her blossoming art career in the future.
She has no publicly disclosed net worth as of this time.
Kareem Waris Olamilekan b. 2007
Next up is Kareem Olamilekan—a.k.a. Waspa—an 18-year-old Nigerian visual artist specializing in hyperrealistic drawings. If de Forest was the most “high profile” on this list, then Olamilekan is the most private. He is, incidentally, also the youngest to make the list.
His claim to fame from his early years was the quick-draw portrait he made of then French President Emmanuel Macron, when he visited Olamilekan’s hometown. He was only 11 at the time. This occurred three years after he purportedly “went professional” at the tender age of eight, which was itself only two years after he began to make art. Can you imagine being only eight and having a full-blown income?
But he didn’t stop there. Olamilekan has further developed his skills to work his way out of poverty and has amassed artistic acclaim.
“Kareem got a triumph over 2,723 participants worldwide and won ‘Taiwan’s Chou Ta-Kuan Cultural and Education Foundation award’ in Taiwan. By this, he got an opportunity to meet Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen for his incredible artistic skills.”
Global Child Prodigy Awards
He also experiments with other forms. Even when he first rose to public attention, he never limited himself to one medium.
“[M]ost of Olamilekan’s portraits are completed in pencil. However, he also dabbles in other mediums, including paint, pastel, and even ballpoint pen. Similarly, he also explores subjects beyond portraiture. ‘I draw cartoons, comics,’ he tells BBC Africa’s What’s New program. ‘I draw illustrations from textbooks and newspapers.'”
Kelly Richman-Abdou
Olamilekan has recently started working with clay and sculpting, as evidenced by his latest social media activity.
And based on this post, it is clear that his efforts are paying off. Olamilekan might be the youngest and lowest profile artist on this list, but he has more than earned his spot!
He has not disclosed his net worth as of this time.
Elisabeth Victoria Anisimow b. 2006
Next on our list is Elisabeth Anisimow, a 19-year-old of Russian heritage, whose family lives in the USA. She is a self-styled “business artist” who has been making and selling “living art” for the last decade. Beginning her painting when she was only two, Anisimow rapidly moved on to three-dimensional and later live canvases. She has been selling her work for sizable sums since age seven. She paints three-dimensional “rooms,” the props and clothes of her models, and the models themselves. According to her Facebook profile, she currently labels her work as a visual performance art and digital creation.
Of course, eventually, she did change her mind on what she wanted to do for post-secondary.
In her own words, six years after this video was produced,
“I’m Elisabeth Anisimow, [an at-the-time] a 17-year old student specializing in Traditional Chinese Painting. I lived with my Russian parents in California, USA. Since my childhood, I spent hours at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St.Petersburg, Russia, observing and learning from art masters. My artistic pursuits evolved into working with ‘living art’ and creating art installations. In 2020, I visited China for the first time to create ‘Christmas Muse Garden’ art installation at K11 Musea. The experience left me captivated by Chinese culture, wisdom, and traditional painting. This fascination led me…to delve deeper into the unique style and wisdom of Chinese Painting.”
Elizabeth Anisimow
And those aren’t empty words. Anisimow has been in attendance at the Chinese Academy of Art in Zhejiang since around the time of the above statement, which was made two years ago.
And just because she has taken a keen interest in Chinese artforms doesn’t mean she has abandoned her very specific style. Even now, she is producing beautiful living art. I cannot wait to see where her art takes her in the new year!
She does not have a publicly disclosed net worth as of this time.
Aelita Andre b. 2007
And last but not least, the 18-year-old Aelita Andre is an abstract artist from Australia. If you thought Anisimow started out young, then Andre will knock your socks right off! Andre initially gained notoriety for the abstract paintings she began making at only nine months old! You’ve heard of a child prodigy, but how about an infant prodigy?
Andre’s paintings were first exhibited in art galleries several months before her second birthday. Her first solo exhibition followed later that same year, and she has had solo exhibitions every year, often multiple times a year, ever since.
“Aelita has never had any formal training in art although several artists have all offered to ‘teach’ her for free – something Aelita has so far refused. Aelita has achieved artistic and financial success by using only her intuition so she sees no need to be taught. Aelita says, ‘I don’t want to copy anyone, I want to be original!’ Learning is a double edged sword because you can…begin to take on the characteristics of your teacher and lose your own originality.”
Andre is no longer a child. And over the last decade and a half, she has really come into her own artistically. Even as she continues to create stunning abstract color pieces, such as the ones pictured with her below, her social media shows that she enjoys experimenting with other fields and materials.
Early on, she incorporated three-dimensional physical objects into her abstract color art, introducing depth to a previously two-dimensional landscape and working with the absence of color to place visual emphasis on these three-dimensional layers. In the last two years, she has also begun to share her work with sculpture, no longer only using three-dimensional canvases but instead crafting three-dimensional forms herself.
From the observable progression of her skills, it is clear that Andre is not only a former child prodigy but a mature artist.
At the time of writing, she has not publicly disclosed her net worth.
Closing
Talent does not necessarily translate to skill. For that, you need to put in the time, the thought, and the emotional and physical investment. These artists all found success and fame from a young age, but their skill today stems from consistent practice and devotion.
Every single artist who made this list has continuously immersed themselves in their art, and it shows. They’ve also had the good fortune to be encouraged by the people in their lives. Today, all four of them have made it.
You’ve likely heard of the starving artist, but I think it’s important to acknowledge and celebrate those of us who have found success through a highly competitive and moving craft. Art and self-expression form the essence of humanity. And in these trying times, when stability and safety are under threat and thieves are using stolen work to manufacture grotesque imitations of genuine articles, I feel it is more important than ever to highlight that modern art and creators can thrive.
If you’re interested in exploring work by other living artists, then I highly recommend checking out Artist’s Pages. And if you’re a bit older and want to see more visual artists from the same age bracket as de Forest, then check out this article from earlier in the year. I promise you won’t be disappointed!
