Marla Olmstead Net Worth

Marla Olmstead net worth is an American child artist renowned for her abstract paintings. She has earned international renown due to comparisons with Kandinsky, Pollock and Picasso; additionally her pieces have sold for thousands of dollars each.

However, her painting techniques have caused controversy. Some have speculated that her father might actually be painting for her; others believe that she has simply been taught how to paint correctly. No matter the truth of the situation is, this documentary shows us how one child’s art can quickly become the source of public outrage and public doubt.

Marla Olmstead of Binghamton, New York quickly rose from total obscurity to the pinnacle of art world success within months. At just four, her colorful acrylic paintings began fetching thousands of dollars apiece and earning her accolades such as child prodigy and budding Picasso. TV crews even invaded her family home to document the phenomenon that was happening within. Her art became the talk of town.

But all was not what it seemed. A series of scandals resulted in media scrutiny for the Olmstead family. For instance, The New York Times ran an article suggesting they had defrauded the art world while in 2005 60 Minutes revealed Marla’s painting to be uneven and blotchy.

As this incident further revealed the Olmsteads as dishonest, this led to increased speculation. Critics demanded to see an entire video of Marla working on one of her works from start-to-finish; when one finally surfaced, it demonstrated that either direct instruction from or coaching from her father were helping Marla produce it.

Amir Bar-Lev stumbled onto Marla Olmstead’s story while filming another movie and promised her parents, the Olmsteads, that his documentary would get to a deeper truth than what had been presented by news crews. He spent months at their home capturing intimate footage of Marla and her parents – while also noting how Marla has long since left behind the media attention she once garnered as she has become an adult and distanced herself from it – even her website has not been updated in three years while the family have stopped creating YouTube videos of Marla as they have done with Marla being their daughter’s daughter’s performance art career!