Warren Buffett considers his investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway a work of art, his masterpiece. The Financial Times points out that there are a group or bankers, entrepreneurs and investors who have gone beyond the metaphor recently and become fine artists themselves.

“It’s a trend I noticed about 18 months ago,” says Ivan Macquisten, editor of Antiques Trade Gazette. “It isn’t just about people wanting to be creative, they also seem to be really successful at it. And they aren’t just ex-City workers, there are some really big corporate names.” The eclectic group includes a former Merrill Lynch chief operating officer and a Citibank vice-president.

Mr Macquisten, who coined the term “the left bankers”, attributes their success in the art world to the fact that they are used to success. “They have lots of contacts and know how to deal with people who have got money,” he says.

Jonty Hurwitz, the co-founder of short-term loan company Wonga.com, creates beautiful anamorphic sculptures using algorithmic calculations – the same techniques he needs to build the risk models to assess loan applications.

“Technology is my tool.” Mr Hurwitz says. “All my art is very algorithm-based, and requires masses of data so, in a way, Wonga is another one of my sculptures.”

City Workers Sculpt New Careers in Art (Financial Times)