EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

The Life Cycles of Modern Artists

David Galenson

No 8779, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: There have been two very different life cycles for great modern artists: some have made their major contributions early in their careers, while others have produced their best work later in their lives. These patterns have been associated with different artistic goals and working methods: artists who peak late are motivated by aesthetic considerations and work by trial and error, whereas artists who peak early are motivated by conceptual concerns and plan their work in advance. This paper shows that Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and the other leading Abstract Expressionists, who were experimental innovators, produced their best work considerably later in their careers than did Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and the other leading conceptual innovators of the generation that followed them. These results not only yield a new understanding of the life cycles of creative individuals, but also provide new insights into the value of works of art.

Date: 2002-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cul and nep-pke
Note: LS
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Published as Galenson, David W. "The Life Cycles of Modern Artists." Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History 37, 3 (Summer 2004): 123 - 136.
Published as David Galenson, 2002. "The Life Cycles of Modern Artists," World Economics, World Economics, Economic & Financial Publishing, 1 Ivory Square, Plantation Wharf, London, United Kingdom, SW11 3UE, vol. 3(3), pages 161-178, July.

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.nber.org/papers/w8779.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nbr:nberwo:8779

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
http://www.nber.org/papers/w8779

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc National Bureau of Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().

 
Page updated 2025-03-19
Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:8779