After a dismal 2009, there is hope for the art auction segment. There was reason for optimism at in the past quarter, as the major houses started to move impressive pieces again, and momentum continued through the beginning of this year. Now, we're getting ready to move into the busy months of May and June. Unlike last year, auctioneers, collectors and dealers seem to be ready to play.

May 2008 was essentially the last hurrah of an art market rally that had lasted several years and created incredible amounts of paper canvas and bronze wealth. It was at this point that Sotheby's (BID) sold a fairly late triptych by artist Francis Bacon for an incredible $86 million to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, a transaction that has become the poster child for the excesses of the art market.

This post was part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst of 2007. Voting has now closed and readers have chosen Sanjaya Malakar as the most shameless attempt to cash in on the proverbial 15 minutes of fame. Be sure to let us know in the comments if you are pleased with this result.

When Andy Warhol observed nearly 40 years ago that "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes," the man wasn't kidding. While the toe-headed artist couldn't have predicted the rise of the internet or reality television in 1968, this pair of media outlets now enables anyone with a webcam and a dream to put themselves on the map for one brief shining moment (or even several). Below are some of the folks we hated to love as they flitted across the pop-culture radar this year.

For about six weeks or so, the main topic of discussion at the nation's water coolers was the hairdo of a mild-mannered 17-year old. Sanjaya Malakar -- a contestant on News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) FOX Network's American Idol -- divided a nation with his questionable talent and his ever-changing coiffure. Howard Stern launched a campaign, the goal of which was to discredit the show with a Sanjaya victory. Sanjaya took it all in stride ... the tongue-lashings from Simon Cowell, the hatred from America's bloggers, the worldwide attention. But underneath it all, he was a sensitive teenaged boy, one who couldn't quite blink back the tears when he was mercifully ousted from the competition. From that point on, the Idol season wasn't the same. I barely remember who won.

In November 1962, a U.S. collector shelled out a measly $250 for an Andy Warhol paint and ink and portrait of Marilyn Monroe. "Lemon Marilyn" was one of a series of 13 paintings Warhol created in the immediate wake of Monroe's August 1962 death. Auctioneers with London's Christie's (LSE: CTG) said Monday that the unnamed collector is now looking to cash in this investment at 60,000 times its original value just 45 years later, as the painting is expected to fetch $15 million or more. Such a price tag is certainly not out of the question -- the "Orange Marilyn" painting was sold for $16.3 million last year.

Reportedly, the 1962 transaction occurred at the gallery in New York where Warhol held a one-man show that featured eight of his Marilyn paintings. If you'd like to view before you buy, "Lemon Marilyn" will be on public display at Christie's until tomorrow, and will go on sale at auction May 16 in New York.

While art collectors are profiting from Marilyn decades after her death, the blond bombshell herself remains a bankable commodity. On Forbes' 2006 list of top-earning deceased celebrities, Ms. Monroe ranks ninth, with her estate banking $8 million during the year. Ironically, she did not achieve millionaire status until after her death.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.