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Young female artist has sold $7 million worth of paintings before she was even 14-years-old

You can see her talent in her very first painting.

Autumn de Forest

Autumn de Forest stands before a sign with her name on it

When Autumn de Forest was 5, she picked up a paintbrush for the first time. It wasn't long before she was ready to show the world what she could do.

After a year of practice, the then-6-year-old asked her father if he could get her a booth at a local art-in-the-park program. "People would come up to the booth, and they would talk to my father, and they'd say, 'This is great!'" she said. "Apparently they thought it was Take Your Daughter to Work Day."

Almost everyone thought the artwork was her father's. And when they found out that tiny Autumn was the artist, people couldn't believe their eyes.


art, kids, art genius, kid genius Autumn created this piece when she was just 5 years old. Autumn de Forest

Soon, Autumn rose to national fame.

When Autumn was 8, she was featured on the Discovery Health Channel. There was a slew of media attention in the years that followed. There was Disney. There was The Today Show. There was Wendy Williams. She was called a child genius, a prodigy, and an expert painter.


autumn deforest, art, kids, painting Soon, Autumn rose to national fame.Autumn Deforest


Suddenly, Autumn de Forest was everywhere.

But not everyone was so accepting of the young artist and her work. Some people in the art world had ... questions. Sure, she was good for a kid. But was her art actually good? Others wondered if the whole thing might be an elaborate hoax.

Autumn decided not to listen.

By 14 she developed a startlingly organized daily routine that went far beyond a 9 to 5.

Somehow, as the focus on her age begins to wear off, Autumn's work ethic and art only grow stronger. She said that most days, she'd wake up in her parents' Las Vegas home at 7:30 a.m. After breakfast, she'd break out her supplies for a one- or two-hour painting session. From there, she dove into her school work. Most brick-and-mortar schools can't accommodate her travel schedule, so she did the majority of her schooling online.

Before dinner, it's back into the studio.

"That session can last much longer, that can be three or four hours when I really get into it," she said. "Then I probably have dinner and go to bed."

kids, painting, artistic genius, paintings, kid artists Autumn de Forest paints Autumn de Forest


The results? They speak for themselves.

Autumn de Forest, painting, art, kids, prodigy An Autumn de Forest painting Autumn de Forest

Her work has been displayed in galleries and exhibitions all over the world.

Autumn held a public demonstration before a showing at The Butler Institute of American Art.

Autumn de Forest, painting, kids, art An Autumn de Forest painting Autumn de Forest

In 2015, Autumn received the International Giuseppe Sciacca Award in Painting and Art.

The award took her to the Vatican for a private showing of her artwork with the pope.


She's also worked with the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, headed up by former First Lady Michelle Obama.

Autumn de Forest, the Pope, Pope Francis, painting, art Autumn de Forest stands with the Pope who looks at one of her paintings Autumn de Forest

As part of the program, de Forest traveled to underprivileged schools around the country and led painting workshops. Oh, and if you're looking for some hard numbers to attach to Autumn's talent, she's got those, too.

Her paintings raked in over $7 million at auctions by the time she was a teenager — fetching as much as $25,000 each — much of which has gone directly to charities and disaster relief funds.


At 23-years-old now, what's Autumn de Forest up to lately?

Autumn de Forest, painting, art, kids Autumn de Forest works with other young painters Autumn de Forest

A lot!

The transition from child prodigy to respected artist has kept her busy.

In 2017, the Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center in Hendersonville, Tennessee hosted a major solo exhibition for de Forest titled "Her White Room: The Art of Autumn de Forest."

That same year, de Forest was listed as one of Teen Vogue's "21 Under 21." In her profile she was praised for her talent as well as her commitment to art education.

"In dis­advantaged schools, they consider the arts an extracur­ricular activity," she told Teen Vogue. "It's devastating, as there could be child prodigies in these schools, but they don't know that they have this God-­given gift because they're not given the opportunity because there's nearly no art programs in schools."

In 2018, de Forest was featured in the music video for the song "Youth" by best-selling recording artists Shawn Mendes and Khalid. The video highlights exceptional young people working to change the world, including de Forest, Emma González, and Elias and Zion Phoenix.

The video has over 17 million plays on YouTube.

And of course, Autumn continues to share her absolutely incredible artwork on Instagram and in shows and exhibitions around the globe.

The Autumn de Forest Foundation, helps her keep track of the kids she's met throughout the years and to continue to help them with their art careers.

A portion of the foundation's money goes to a 529 account set up for the students while 10% goes to them directly.

"A lot of these kids that I work with, they're not very old, they're in second grade, third grade, fourth grade. Maybe in 10 years, they may only have four or five thousand dollars but that could be the difference between them going to college or not," Autumn told Teen Vogue.

Autumn's incredible rise in the art world is an astonishing feat for someone who's still in her teens. But that accomplishment is easily matched by her generosity and commitment to helping develop tomorrow's prodigies as well.

For more information, visit the Autumn de Forest Foundation.


This article originally appeared nine years ago.

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The pope shared his advice for a happy marriage and he only needed three words

via Wikimedia Commons

Pope Francis greeting his followers.

Living through 20 months of a worldwide pandemic has definitely taken a toll on everyone’s mental health. It’s also had a significant effect on marriages and families.

A recent group of studies cited by PBS found that the pandemic has created a range of parental stressors, such as school closures, job losses and interruptions in care for children with chronic diseases.

Parents are also dealing with higher levels of stress, clinical anxiety and depression.

A study out of Canada found that 44.3% of parents with children reported worse mental health as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 35.6% of respondents without children.

On Sunday, Pope Francis released a letter aimed at families called, “Christmas present to married couples," with some advice for those trying to keep their families healthy in troubled times.

“For some couples, the enforced living conditions during the quarantine were particularly difficult. Pre-existing problems were aggravated, creating conflicts that in some cases became almost unbearable,” the pope wrote. “Many even experienced the breakup of a relationship that had to deal with a crisis that they found hard or impossible to manage. I would like them, too, to sense my closeness and my affection.”

The pope provided some hope in the letter by reminding his followers of three simple words that can work miracles in marriages.

“May every family be a place of acceptance and understanding,” he wrote. “Think about the advice I gave you on the importance of those three little words: ‘please, thanks, sorry.’”

The pope’s advice may seem just like common sense, but it works. According to Positive Psychology, research has found that forgiveness among married couples improves their commitment, conflict resolution skills and overall relationship quality.

It's important to remember that forgiveness works both ways. It's great for those who have been forgiven but it also improves the mental well-being of those who are able to accept an apology. According to Psychology Today, "An apology actually affects the bodily functions of the person receiving it—blood pressure decreases, heart rate slows and breathing becomes steadier."

He also repeated an oft-cited piece of marriage advice, don’t go to bed angry. “After every argument, ‘don’t let the day end without making peace,’” the pope urged.

The pope says that the failure to make peace before bedtime can cause resentments to ferment. “How many times, unfortunately, conflicts originate within the domestic walls due to prolonged periods of silence and from unchecked selfishness!” he wrote. “Sometimes it even ends up in physical and moral violence. This lacerates harmony and kills the family.”

He also urged people to put down their phones and talk to one another. “It’s sad to see a family at lunch, each one with his or her own cell phone not speaking to one another, everyone talking to the mobile phone,” he wrote.

The pope’s advice may not have been world-shattering but at a time when many people are at their wit’s end, it’s important to be reminded that one of the most important gifts that we can give to one another is grace.

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Pope Francis shared a tender moment with a mentally disabled boy who wanted his skull cap

via The Vatican News/YouTube

A young boy tried to grab the Pope's skull cap.

A boy of about 10 years old with a mental disability stole the show at Pope Francis' weekly general audience on Wednesday at the Vatican auditorium. In front of an audience of thousands, the boy walked past security and onto the stage while priests delivered prayers and introductory speeches.

The boy, later identified as Paolo Jr., greeted the pope by shaking his hand and when it was clear that he had no intention of leaving, the pontiff asked Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza, the head of protocol, to let the boy borrow his chair.

The boy's activity on the stage was clearly a breach of Vatican protocol but Pope Francis didn't seem to be bothered one bit. He looked at the child with a sense of joy and wasn't even disturbed when he repeatedly motioned that he wanted to remove his skull cap.



Pope Francis' skull cap, or zucchetto as it's called in Italian, is a symbol of his rank in the Catholic church. The Pope is the only church official allowed to wear a white zucchetto.

The zucchetto has been a Catholic tradition since about the 13th century. Capes with hoods went out of style so the clergy wore the small hats to keep their shorn heads warm.

Monasteries used to mandate that men shaved the crown of their heads, based on the writings of Paul. "Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair, it is degrading to him." (1 Corinthians 11:14)

A church official brought out a white skull cap for the boy and then he happily to returned to his seat while receiving a round of applause from the Vatican crowd.

Boy Steals Scene At pope's Audience By Wanting Francis' Skullcapwww.youtube.com

At the end of his address, Francis commented on the incident by praising the "spontaneity and freedom" of children. He lauded the boy for his ability to "come close and move around as if he were at home" and said the faithful should feel the same freedom to come close to God without fear.

He also asked God to help the boy with his disability.

"I thank this boy for the lesson he has given all of us. May the Lord help him in his limitation, as he grows, because what he did came from the heart," the pope said.

Pope Francis could have easily had the young boy removed from the stage for being a disruption or seen him as affront to his high position as pope. But instead he took a page out of the good book and welcomed the child to his arms, just like Christ.

"Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven," Jesus is quoted as saying in The Bible. It's wonderful to see the pope as a living example of those words while also being a shining example of how to relate to children with disabilities.

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For Lent, the Pope is asking Catholics to stop being mean to each other on social media

Photo by Ashwin Vaswani on Unsplash

Being nice to each other on social media doesn't just feel novel, it might literally be holy. During his Ash Wednesday remarks, Pope Francis suggested that his devout followers take a break from trolling people on social media:

"We live in an atmosphere polluted by too much verbal violence, too many offensive and harmful words, which are amplified by the internet," he said. "Today, people insult each other as if they were saying 'Good day.'"


Photo by Nacho Arteaga on


Here at Upworthy, finding ways to unite and build each other up instead of tearing each other down is at the very core of our mission. Social media has created an incredibly powerful tool for self-policing that would otherwise allow so many injustices to slip through the cracks. Massive cultural milestones like the #MeToo movement literally wouldn't have happened without social media helping to power the voices of women speaking out and providing them with a forum to safely do so.

But we've also seen how the same social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook can be used to tear down the innocent or even "cancel" someone who has made mistakes but expressed a willingness to learn, apologize, and do better. Striking the right balance between righteous anger and self-righteous behavior could literally decide the next four years of our government heading into the 2020 Election season.

And we're delighted that Pope Francis seems to really get it.

Of course, Pope Francis also suggested Catholics consider giving up their TVs and phones for Lent, saying: "Lent is the right time to make room for the Word of God. It is the time to turn off the television and open the Bible. It is the time to disconnect from your cell phone and connect to the Gospel."

We're not experts on the holy word, but that might just be a bridge too far!

The best part is you don't have to be religious at all to practice a little civil discourse. Sometimes, the most powerful decision is to say nothing at all rather than add to a toxic discourse. According to Reuters, the Pope's words were "partially improvised" but they feel scripted in the best sense of the word; a guidebook for what to say, what not to say and how to navigate between the two in moments of doubt or confusion.

Speaking of Lent, Pope Francis described this moment as "a time to give up useless words, gossip, rumors, tittle-tattle and speak to God on a first-name basis."

The Pope hasn't mentioned his call for a more civil social media on social media itself. But his Ash Wednesday tweets were filled with a typically civic-minded approach to his faith that has won Francis accolades from people across faiths and those who practice no faith at all.

And for those who don't have a religious affiliation, instead of speaking to God on a first-name basis, perhaps we can start with speaking to our digital neighbors in the way in which we'd like to be spoken to.

It's OK to have disagreements. In fact, civil debates are part of the cornerstone of any healthy democracy. But dialing back the invective — going high when they go low might just be the missing part of the whole conversation.

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