Jasper Johns, Three Flags, 1958  Johns is perhaps one of the most inspirational contemporary artists, because of his amazing story. His work is widely known, and is highly sought after due to its rarity and great value. In 1980, Johns became the first living artist to sell a painting for $1 million dollars. He then broke this record in 1988, when his painting, “False Start,” sold at auction for $17.05 million. As if these accomplishments weren’t enough, the same painting was later sold by the auction winner, David Geffen, to private collectors, Anne and Kenneth Griffin for a whopping $80 million. His paintings appear 7 times on Skate’s Art Market Research release top 1000 list of most valuable paintings. Without a doubt, Jasper Johns has proven that not all artists are “starving,” and thus has become a role model in many regards to aspiring artists worldwide. As he only produces a few paintings a year, Johns has managed to find the perfect balance between quality of work and market saturation. By making his work a commodity, he has done something that even the greatest artists of all time, like Vincent Van Gogh, were only able to accomplish posthumously.