Wealthy Artists: Who Says You Can’t Be One?
I don’t know where the rumor started, ‘You can’t be an artist if you were born wealthy’, but I’d like to stop it from continuing. While financial support may provide more opportunities for a growing artist, in the end the artist himself must separate from his parental upbringing and leave behind his own legacy.
The arts have a history of individuals who were born into wealth and rose through ranks to produce some of the most memorable artwork to this day. If you don’t believe me, here’s three famous creative individuals who were wealthy prior to their sublime achievements.
T. S. (Thomas Stearns) Eliot
The author behind the quintessential modernist poem, “The Waste Land”, was born into the wealthy Eliot family. Son of Henry Eliot, a rich businessman, allowed for Thomas access to attend high-end private schools, assisting in his preparations for academia, until his arrival at Harvard University
With little concern for earning money, Eliot set his sights on academic and spiritual goals for his life. He taught at Harvard, wrote poetry and prose, and practiced Catholicism. Certainly, no one would say that Eliot is anything less than one of the literary greats, simply because he was born into a wealthier family than his other lost generation contemporaries. Today, Eliot’s work hangs in the pantheons of great literary works.
Harry Connick Jr.
Yes, the jazzy piano playing virtuoso, and occasional actor, was born to an Orleans Parish district attorney and a Louisiana Supreme Court justice. Connick gained access to all of the great New Orleans jazz bars, through his father’s connections, which provided tutelage from many of Jazz’s greatest artists.
Feverishly pursuing the piano from age three, Harry was already separating his parent’s legal legacies and putting his own stamp on the music of his hometown. And while his parent’s provision aided him in his journey, it was ultimately his journey to New York and his fusion of New York style and New Orleans swing that solidified him as a Jazz giant.
Salvador Dali
One of the great surrealist painters of the 20th century, Salvador Dali was born to a wealthy Spanish notary. Dali’s father fashioned him his own art studio in the family’s summer home, with which Salvador spent countless hours studying and learning.
His family’s wealth allowed for him to receive academic training at the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid, and it was here that Dali continued to develope strong sense of identity. His disagreements with his teachers only spurred him on in his creative endeavors, and his first showing garnered an audience on multiple continents, establishing the beginnings of his legacy at the age of 24.