Working Paper: NBER ID: w8779
Authors: David W. Galenson
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.
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Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| age of artists (Z11) | nature of innovations (O35) |
| experimental innovators produce significant works later in life (O31) | aesthetic experimentation characterized by trial and error (C90) |
| conceptual innovators make major contributions earlier in their careers (O36) | driven by precise conceptual objectives (L21) |