Prospects For An Artist
Working at Wolverhampton Art Gallery has numerous advantages, one of which is access to some amazing and intriguing old art books. At the moment I am reading a book called Preparation For Painting by lynton Lamb. First published in 1954 and at times startlingly accurate for artists still at times.
A couple of things of many that caught my eye.
“From lack of the right sort of patron artists began to paint as speculation instead of to commission: that is to say they worked to please themselves in the hope of finding a market later. This sometimes turned out to be shrewd business, particularly when backed by adequate capital. Often it was not: with no commission and no sales we get Art for Art’s Sake. In other words take it or leave it. It is the dawn of bohemianism.”
” So it looks as if painters must now largely do the impresario’s job as well as their own. They must not only create a demand in an unpredictable market, but also manipulate that market and keep it supplied. A few good painters manage it, indeed so do some bad. The art schools do not tell us how to do this: indeed, the longer we stay in art school the harder it may be to learn the ropes.”
It would be interesting to here what other artist feel about their prospects and the skills that they feel they now must have to survive. Have things changed? There are so many choices to make now about how/if we make a living from our Art. It would be good to know what you think.
Fascinating! I find the paragraph you posted from Preparation for Painting to be completely accurate of my perception as an artist. My partner and I find that we must continue to evolve all of our skills: in business, marketing and art mediums. It is also helpful to evolve ones consciousness. So true about art schools not sufficiently preparing the artist. A great case in point is Gary Baseman, who started off as an illustrator and now has moved into the art world. He attended business school at UCLA, never went to art school.
Thanks for this insightful post.
Really great of you to leave such a thoughtful comment thank you. Im always amazed and re assured when I connect with other creatives across the world! This blog thing is great sometimes!