Follow Up: Flaming Art

Good art isn't always pretty.  Sometimes it is thought provoking, other times it is an image we would have never dreamed of but will never be the same once we have seen it.  Once in a while, it is controversial, other times it is delightfully creative.

Offers for the painting began pouring in after the Los Angeles Times reported last month that authorities wanted to know if Schaefer planned to burn the bank down. He got so many offers that he decided to put the 22-by-28-inch oil on canvas up for auction on eBay.

A German art collector who wishes to remain anonymous bought it last week for $25,200.

Schaefer says he told the police officers who visited him outside the Chase branch, and those who came to his home later, that the paintings were meant to be a metaphor for the financial havoc the banking industry has created.

After pointing out he would be a fool to paint a burning bank and then burn a bank, the artist has now accomplished a goal far bigger than a series for a local display. He has sold a painting that made headlines, expressed his passion and brought attention to a sign of our times. I hope he isn't a one hit wonder.