[sehrope]

This reminds me of the plot to a Mark Twain short story[1] about an artist that fakes his own death to profit from the posthumous increase in the value of his work. Been a while but I remember it being a a fun read.

[1]: Called "Is He Living or Is He Dead?" - http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3251/3251-h/3251-h.htm#link2H...