Aleteia For Her magazine features Autumn de Forest
Autumn de Forest at the entrance to The Butler. (Photo credit: Doug de Forest)
Described as “soulful” by the Aleteia For Her online magazine, Autumn de Forest continues to inspire those around her with her art and her heart.
The article, “Soulful 14-year-old painter Autumn de Forest inspires the world with big talent and an even bigger heart,” observes that teenage years are all about “becoming.” It’s discovering yourself and realizing your talents. But 14-year-old Autumn (now 15 as of the publishing of this post) found her calling as an artist long before now, and has used it to make the world brighter and better. From the article:
“Perhaps because she comes from a long line of artists (including three other 20th century de Forests) or perhaps just because her parents were good at knowing a gift when they saw one, her family encouraged her, taking de Forest to art galleries and helping her move from garage projects to paintings on canvas.”
Autumn, who began painting at the age of 5, honed her artistic gifts early on. She has since earned more than $7 million for her art. Much of what she earns, however, goes toward charitable organizations and relief efforts.
Along with donations, Autumn gives of her time to spread the joy of art. As an artist with Turnaround Arts, she travels to under-performing schools to give hands-on art demonstrations with students. Many of the students are her age, which only motivates them further to succeed.
The art prodigy made history when she opened an exhibition at the Butler Institute of American Art this year. True to her character, Autumn used the opportunity to teach others about art. She made appearances during a special closing event held at the Youngstown, Ohio museum. Autumn led school groups on tours and gave lessons to students on creating self-portraits.
A Teen Humanitarian
Autumn de Forest with one of the paintings she created in honor of receiving an art award from the Vatican. (Photo by Doug de Forest)
For her efforts, the Vatican presented Autumn with the International Giuseppe Sciacca Award for Painting and Art in 2015. The prestigious award honors those age 35 and under for their humanitarian efforts and knowledge of art.
Even with all these accomplishments, Autumn is nowhere close to stopping. She is a role model and force for good, but through it all she remains humble, always striving to improve.
“But most of all, she understands the high—even holy—role art has in this world: that it helps us understand beauty and mystery, that it makes us more compassionate and empathetic, and that it can help heal the world’s wounds in very tangible ways.”
View Park West Gallery’s Autumn de Forest collection here.
