# Why do most artists only become famous after death? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2013, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-artists-only-become-famous-after-death/668749 "2013-09-13T05:15:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Maddog\_Mystique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Maddog\_Mystique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maddog_Mystique)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-artists-only-become-famous-after-death/668749/1 "2013-09-13T05:15:27Z")
Why? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-artists-only-become-famous-after-death/668749/2 "2013-09-13T05:22:04Z")
Moved to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-artists-only-become-famous-after-death/668749/3 "2013-09-13T05:24:13Z")
> [@Maddog\_Mystique](#): > > Why? Your premise is wrong. Most famous artists had already become famous before they died, notwithstanding a few exceptions like Van Gogh. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-artists-only-become-famous-after-death/668749/4 "2013-09-13T08:33:48Z")
Well just for the UK I think of Turner, Constable, Stubbs, Bacon, Reynolds, Moore, Hockney who probably would be in anyone’s top 20 of famous British artists and all of them were/are immensely famous during their lifetime. I’d say that it is actually the “great, unappreciated master” that is far less common. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-artists-only-become-famous-after-death/668749/5 "2013-09-13T12:19:44Z")
I agree with Colibri and NB. The fine art world is all about reputation, and many artists, now and present, spend as much time building that as creating art. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-artists-only-become-famous-after-death/668749/6 "2013-09-13T12:30:45Z")
Perhaps because there are so many more dead artists than live ones? An artist has maybe 50 or 60 years to get famous during life, but if any of the art is preserved they might have centuries to get famous after they die. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-artists-only-become-famous-after-death/668749/7 "2013-09-13T12:33:11Z")
Oh, forgot another factor. The professions of art historian, art critic and curator are relatively recent. So now we have thousands of people looking into art history and pointing out interesting stuff that wasn’t noticed when it was made. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-artists-only-become-famous-after-death/668749/8 "2013-09-13T12:33:50Z")
Its not that they get more famous. The art gets more expensive (generally). Simple reason, there won’t be any more. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-artists-only-become-famous-after-death/668749/9 "2013-09-13T12:43:35Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > I agree with Colibri and NB. The fine art world is all about reputation, and many artists, now and present, spend as much time building that as creating art. I agree that the OP’s premise isn’t quite right. There are artists who were famous, fell out of popularity, and then came back - Piero Della Francesca is an example of someone very well regarded while alive - he wouldn’t have gotten the commissions from churches that he did otherwise - but fell out of favor for a few hundred years until being elevated to the upper echelon of Renaissance painters during the 20th Century. Then there are genre artists who are looked down upon for the type of art they produce, only to be elevated later as that genre gains respect. Japanese Woodblock Printmakers were basically making sophisticated postcards/tourist souvenirs, but over time, their approach to framing scenes and using color deeply influenced the Impressionists in Europe. Same with comic books and their effect on the look and feel of movies. Also the same with pulp writers like Philip K. Dick and Jim Thompson - their works were considered cheap and low-brow, but are now held up as deeply influential. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-artists-only-become-famous-after-death/668749/10 "2013-09-13T14:54:20Z")
It’s easier to laud the “genius” of someone who won’t do something asinine to contradict you. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-artists-only-become-famous-after-death/668749/11 "2013-09-13T16:22:04Z")
Some very famous artists are completely forgotten today. Two of the US’s most famous authors of the 19th and early 20th century were Mrs. E.D.E.N Southworth and Winston Churchill.\* No one other than scholars have heard of either. \*No, you’re thinking of Winston **S**. Churchill, who was English and dabbled in politics. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-artists-only-become-famous-after-death/668749/12 "2013-09-13T17:26:29Z")
never mind - started but brain not working.