The Financial Times visits with Autumn de Forest who has been touted as a “prodigy” and promoted by the Park West Gallery, better known for its program of auctions on cruise ships that have provoked complaints from buyers. (Click on the image above to see Discovery’s segment on 8-year-old Autumn and Park West from six years ago.)

Now 14, de Forest’s father claims she has sold $7m worth of art. So it is no surprise to read that he’s turned her notoriety into a full-time business:

So far, Autumn’s paintings have grossed about $7m in sales, according to Doug, who is descended from a line of artists connected to the Met in New York. He says he has set aside funds for college — Autumn has her eye on Yale — and has put mechanisms in place to prevent her from blowing the rest.

By the age of seven she was shifting paintings for thousands of dollars apiece. Aged nine, she started home schooling; aged 11, she signed with Park West Gallery, which claims to be the world’s biggest art dealer by sales volumes. […]

Her parents have put their own lives on hold to a large extent, while her star rises. Doug spent 20 years in Los Angeles as a drummer and composer before moving to Las Vegas in 2003. Katherine was an actress, appearing in TV shows Murder, She Wrote and Baywatch.

Doug is now keen to develop Autumn as a brand. So far he has done “small” deals with American Girl, Gap and Nordstrom, the upmarket department store, which sells Converse high-top trainers bearing a design by Autumn.

He also wants to set up an online portal — working title, “Autumn Bomb” — for children to exhibit and sell their art.

Meet art prodigy Autumn de Forest, 14, who has sold $7m of paintings (FT.com)