A FICTIONAL (虚构的) artist just earned a very real $11,000 (70,000 yuan) at an art auction (拍卖). Nat Tate is a character created by author William Boyd. Boyd published Tate’s fake biography (假自传), Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928-1960, in 1998. Boyd asked celebrities to contribute to the book – and to the farce (闹剧).