TY  - JOUR
AU  - Galenson,David W.
TI  - The Life Cycles of Modern Artists
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 8779
PY  - 2002
Y2  - February 2002
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8779
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8779.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
David Galenson
Department of Economics
University of Chicago
1126 East 59th Street
Chicago, IL  60637
Tel: 773/702-8258
Fax: 773/702-8490
E-Mail: galenson@uchicago.edu
AB  - 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.
ER  -