[ThinkBeat]

I am not saying that the data in the story is wrong, but my (tiny) sample of artist I know and some I have worked with in the US and Norway come from middle class or lower background and they do art because they need to, compelled by an ardent desire / obsession.

None have nest eggs or rich parentes that support them.

They usually have a hard time getting art into galleries. Some run galleries as a collective, but few of those make it into "high society"

A while ago I left my corporate developer / manager to pursue life as an artist. Things to several circumstances not important here, I do not have a nest egg, I make my living off of small stipends when I can get them, and a few other programs that the government provides. (Nice thing in Norway). It is difficult, it is an enormous change in circumstances. Some hurt. I am happier than before.

Perhaps I am hung up on that type of artist. "Corporate" artists might folio the story exactly.

You do have some artists who started late after already having a successful career. They have money and sometimes they have a network of important people to get them into galleries.

Like Howard Schatz who is a great photographer now. After having a long and distinguished career as an ophthalmologist.

Then you have artists like Hunter Biden who can sell paintings for $75K mostly due to fame. (One curator estimates that some pieces might fetch as much as 500K.

[BirAdam]

I personally believe that there’s a lot of bias in most research studies of populations (and some of that is from those being studied, where many middle or lower class people will just hang up if they don’t know you). My experience is that many artists are “starving artists” and not from super lux backgrounds. Additionally, just go visit RISD.

Edit: the scope of what is considered art is also quite narrowly defined in most studies.

[lc9er]

In my peer group of musician friends, there were two archetypes that held out longest: people that were poor and had low wage, dirty and/or backbreaking jobs and those with well-off parents. There were lots more of the latter, because it's hard to justify playing in bands when you can barely feed yourself.

However, both groups had nothing to lose by pursuing their dream.