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Marla Olmstead

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Artist

The Resume

    (February 28, 2000- )
    Born in Binghamton
    Famous for her abstract-expressionist paintings
    Subject of documentary ‘My Kid Could Paint That’(2007) and a 60 Minutes report (2005), both of which cast doubt on her work’s authenticity

Why she might be annoying:

    At first she was unquestioningly hailed as a prodigy by much of the media.
    Skeptics liken her art to that of primates and elephants.
    Perhaps tellingly, she never paints in a representational manner.
    Some dealers feel she is brilliantly marketed rather than truly gifted.
    At the height of her fame, she eclipsed and outsold many established painters.
    A child psychologist became suspicious when she observed Marla painting in a bored, distracted manner.
    Many now suspect that she is heavily coached by her father when she paints.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She reportedly began painting when still in diapers.
    Her parents themselves never described her as a prodigy.
    She is related to Frederick Law Olmsted who designed New York’s Central Park.
    The bold, sophisticated paintings she allegedly creates are often compared to Jackson Pollock's work.
    The money she makes from her art is put in a college fund.
    Her parents received hate mail after the ‘60 Minutes’ exposé.
    If her work is genuine, she is the only child prodigy known to create abstract art.

Credit: Georgina


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 70 Votes: 54.29% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 22 Votes: 59.09% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 14 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 14 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 17 Votes: 76.47% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 34 Votes: 67.65% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 31 Votes: 77.42% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 34 Votes: 52.94% Annoying