The wealthy collector and advertising mogul Charles Saatchi purchased work by three art students from a show at the Royal Academy Schools yesterday, before the exhibition opened to the public, reports the Times (London). Saatchi bought five cutout cartoon characters by Angus Sanders-Dunnachie for £7,900; seven of ten landscapes by Jill Mason, priced at up to £600 each; and all 13 paintings by Carla Busuttil, priced between £450 and £2,500. There were 14 other students participating in the exhibition, which Saatchi said was “easily the outstanding degree show of any art school so far this year."

Professor Maurice Cockrill, Keeper of the Royal Academy, said, “His buying immediately puts values up," and that “Charles Saatchi’s purchase makes others think that if [an artist] has drawn his attention, there must be some future in that artist." The art market has paid attention to Saatchi's purchases since 1997, when he championed the work of the Chapman brothers and Damien Hirst, who both later went on to star in the noteworthy and controversial "Sensation" exhibition at the Royal Academy. Saatchi is also known to sell an artist's work in bulk, a practice greatly frowned upon in the art market. In 2003, he sold his collection of Hirsts back to the artist and his dealer after Hirst called him a “childish” businessman who “only recognizes art with his wallet.” The RA Schools Show 2008 remains on view until June 20.