Whether you are a young or older artist, whether you make art as a passion project or are actively engaged in the business of art, the only limits are what your body can do and what your mind will let you do.

– Barney Davey

Some occupations, such as pro sports, have age limits. In his early 40s, Tom Brady was a dinosaur in the NFL. And while Brady defies age and norms, we all know his remaining time playing as an elite athlete was short.

Many corporations have mandatory retirement ages. They shove people out the door at 65, regardless of whether they have more to contribute.

Artists don’t have a shelf life. They are seemingly immune to ageist perceptions and traditional notions of retirement.

Celebrating older artists

No matter when you start or what your age is, artists can contribute their art to the conversation. We celebrate artists and their lifetime achievements. I was honored to write the press release for the late Joella Jean Mahoney on the 50-year museum retrospective of her magnificent paintings of the Colorado plateau. Imagine her half-century of contributing her unique style and glorious interpretation of the endless palette landscape she stalked and recorded for five decades.

Why we should support older artists

Artists getting older is nothing new. Going back to the Renaissance in Europe, older artists were esteemed and patronized and invited into the homes of kings and popes and their museums, often to collaborate on artwork, occasionally winning commissions and rewards. There are no such support systems for older artists today.

Encouraging mature artists to continue exercising their creativity by making art helps fill a growing demand. As our aging population grows, it is imperative to develop ways to keep older adults productive and involved creatively.

It’s not simply a do-gooder solution. Studies show significant health improvement and stability for older people who engage in creative endeavors. By instituting programs that keep older artists creative and occupied, we can all avoid bearing the financial burden of avoidable healthcare costs.

A changing art market

One of the first questions when considering older artists is, “How far behind are they?” In recent years, we’ve seen an about-face on such an attitude; world-renowned artists have been ushered into commercial careers and embraced as esteemed practitioners. One of London’s top art dealers, Duncan Forbes, created the “Generations” program at the Saatchi Gallery, which included British artist Deborah Ladner. “The program allows collectors and curators to become familiar with new talents,” he said.

More often, the spotlight shines on the new and, usually, on artists who have had long careers but have found a new audience and embrace. American artist Maria Lassnig was active in the 1970s and 80s and now finds her work in important museums and private collections.

Recognition is a problem for older artists.

Being an older artist is challenging for many reasons, including an inevitable lack of recognition. A familiar knock against older artists is that they are no longer relevant to society. That perception has caused many older artists to stay comfortably behind the scenes. Recognition, to be accurate, is not a problem exclusive to mature artists.

Today, when you consider the challenges of creating art in a climate of rising costs of living, becoming a full-time artist is a challenge, even if you are committed to the discipline of creating art and in love with the freedom of making it your livelihood. But those conditions, as daunting as they are, should never stop anyone of any age from pursuing art.

The artist’s life

All artists crave creation. For artists over the age of 40, the creativity floodgates are often wide open. When they are creating, they experience a drive and euphoria that are almost mind-blowing. An artist nearing her 60s was asked about her life and how she felt compared to how she felt when she was 40.

The main difference she observed was that now she has years of experience to draw upon, whether it’s an ideal time to begin a new project or enjoy the good ones she has created. The future, of course, is a total mystery, no matter your age. It’s never been easy for an older artist to make a living, and it never will be. The key is to love what you do. And to remain as excited about creating art now as at any age. That is the essence of my Artist’s Life Manifesto.

Musical acts defying age

Many aging musicians continue to rock the stage despite nearing or having hit 80. Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, and many more fill stadiums and concert halls around the globe today.

Leonard Cohen’s resurgence in his 70s resulted in a series of worldwide concerts that produced stunning live recordings of his performances that were equal to or better than his work from previous decades. His two-CD “Live in London” album is a personal favorite—a tour de force.

Watch this stirring rendition of his timeless classic song, Hallelujah, to see what I mean. (It’s closing in on 200 million views.) And then, closely listening to his song lyrics, written in years past, shows he was an extraordinary visionary. It’s eerie how the prescient words in many of his songs feel as if they were freshly written for today’s bewildering political climate.

What Is the Phil Collins Effect?

Some pop stars have seen dips in popularity and relevancy. Phil Collins’s career is notable because of the term “Phil Collins Effect,” coined because of his recent resurgence in the music scene. Here is a quote from an article about it.

The Phil Collins Effect suggests that famous artists experience a period of critical and commercial success and peer recognition, which we label “consecration.”

Following this condition, there may be a period of commercial and critical decline and rejection by fresh groups of peers looking to distinguish themselves from previous era’s commercial success stories like Collins, which we call “deconsecration.” Revival, or “reconsecration,” involves reappraisal and rediscovery by critics and often a new generation of fans and artistic peers.

Challenges Older Artists Face

Artists of a certain age face many challenges for many reasons, including an inevitable lack of recognition. A familiar knock against older artists is that they are no longer relevant to society. That perception has caused many older artists to stay comfortably behind the scenes. Here again, one must look at the motivation and goals of the artists. If striving for relevancy is not on the artist’s mind, it does not matter. As the saying goes, “If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”

Some of the issues faced by older artists are unique to them. One of the biggest problems is loneliness and a lack of a social network and connection with other people. Sometimes, aging alone can take a toll on relationships, and this problem is not an exclusively older artist experience.

Failing health

Health is always a concern, especially if the artist has had health issues for a long time. The difficulties of art creation, which require physical effort and intense calculations, are likely to increase as a person ages. Be it self-inflicted or an inherited condition, health issues affect older artists more than their younger peers.

Medical advances extend the quality of life and the vulnerability of artists. The days of curing disease with the drop of a pen are behind us. Most ill or disabled artists rely on the generosity of fans or patrons. Bless them because that’s not easy at all.

Perhaps artistic rebirth means bringing back a piece that has faded away. A desire remains to make a final brushstroke, the last revision, or return to previous work. It is a universal experience that aging is a challenge for everyone.

Conclusion

By supporting artists later in life, we are assisting an underserved audience. Imagine adding awareness, respect, and camaraderie to the lives of older artists. If that sounds interesting, I invite you to join me and hundreds of other artists to share and celebrate with each other!

As the Boomer publisher of the Art Marketing News blog, I believe in the well-being of older artists and their long-term economic security. That goes for artists across the scale of your choice of measurement.