His pictures cost upwards of £900, there are 680 people on a waiting
list to buy them, and his second exhibition sold out in 14 minutes. Meet the gifted artist Kieron Williamson, aged seven.
[snip]
Like many great artists, small boys are not often renowned for their
loquaciousness. While Kieron Williamson is a very normal seven-year-old
who uses his words sparingly, what slowly emerges on the small
rectangle of paper in his kitchen is extraordinarily eloquent.
This
month, Kieron's second exhibition in a gallery in his home town of
Holt, Norfolk, sold out in 14 minutes. The sale of 16 new paintings
swelled his bank account by £18,200. There are now 680 people on a
waiting list for a Kieron original. Art lovers have driven from London
to buy his work. Agents buzz around the town. People offer to buy his
schoolbooks. The starting price for a simple pastel picture like the
one Kieron is sketching? £900.
[snip]
These days, however, we are often suspicious of child prodigies. We
wonder if it is all their own work, or whether their pushy parents have
hot-housed them. People who don't know the Williamsons might think
Kieron is being cleverly marketed, particularly when they hear that
Keith is now an art dealer.
The truth is far more innocent. Two
years ago, a serious accident had forced Keith to stop work and turn
his hobby – collecting art – into an occupation. The accident also
stopped Keith racing around outside with his son. Confined to a flat
with no garden, surrounded by paintings and, like any small boy,
probably influenced by his dad, Kieron decided to take up drawing. Now,
father and son are learning about art together.
Continue...
