Wanted: Patrons of the Arts

Creators need patrons of the arts.

We live in a world where people do not always get the credit they deserve and where people often forget to say thanks.

That can be challenging–we all love to be thanked, particularly when we go out of our way to help.

But for an artist, not having our work recognized can be debilitating. To create for years and not have anyone appreciate your output can cripple.

That’s why it’s so important for a society to have patron of the arts.

The first patrons of the arts

Most of us started with the basic set: parents.

Parents are expected to cheer on their offspring. God gives them to children to encourage their talents and to be a haven from the cruel world.

They also should be honest about where that child’s strengths lie–and don’t lie. Even if the kid shrieks and complains the parents “don’t understand.”

Probably because they don’t.

But a parent can  open a door and point to a child’s gifts. They’re in a good place to recognize what unique abilities their child can offer the world.

When I get into discussions with parents lamenting their (usually) teenager’s lack of ambition, I ask what the kid is good at or interested in.

Most parents can come up with something, even if it’s only “playing video games.”

From there, we usually extend the discussion into what skills are required to play, say, video games, well and how that can translate into something else.

It doesn’t always work, but even the kid who never sits still has his interest captured by something.

Mothers, particularly, as patrons of the arts

My mother handed me a notebook as we embarked on a 10-week trip.

“You’re the writer in the family,” she said. “You need to take notes so that when we return we’ll be able to remember where we went.”

She wanted to challenge 14-year-old gawky me into using my talent.

Because writing appealed to me (and we only brought three books on that trip–what were we thinking?), I wrote every day–detailing what we did and what I saw.

I’m mortified by the notes now. (My vexing brother ended up the star of the whole trip).

But her challenge–and watching eye–ensured I finished the task.

When home, she also paid for piano lessons.

My mother was at the top of my short list: patron of the arts.

Patrons of the arts ensured masterpieces

Michelangelo never would have painted that Sistine Chapel without the hectoring and (too little) money provided by Pope Julius 11.

(See Irving Stone‘s The Agony and the Ecstasy for a fictionalized account of this challenging relationship).

Most of the great artwork now covering museum walls in Europe were commissioned by a patron of the arts. (Often the Catholic Church which is why so many paintings have religious themes.)

People may grumble about the subject of those paintings now, but without patronage, Leonardo da Vinci never would have had the wherewithal to paint La Giocanda.

Wealthy people often funded composers–think Mozart’s operas (see Amadeus, for another fictionalized account) and Beethoven’s symphonies.

The Lobkowicz Palace in Prague provides excellent examples of what an entire family funded!

Writing–William Shakespeare couldn’t have done it without the help of companies wanting his playwriting skills (See Shakespeare in Love, more fiction) and his buddy Ben Jonson was the same way.

Someone has to pay artists enough to live on so they can create their art work.

I’ve been thinking about this lately as I see shrinkage in the amount of money writers, musicians, and artists make these days.

It looks impossible to put together a creative career on your own. But has it ever been possible?

I acquired another patron of the arts when I left my parent’s home: my husband.

He has provided the emotional, financial, and technological support I needed to write my ten books–and all the others that have yet to see a royalty-paying publisher.

My husband listened for five years as I researched and wrote a massive family history, and funded all the expeditions. He bought countless computers, untold reams of paper, and even watched the children when necessary.

More importantly, though, unlike Pope Julius, my husband grasped my need for positive encouragement.

He’s been my cheerleader and my confessor. I couldn’t have written, and wouldn’t have wanted to, any of my books without him.

Perhaps it’s part of being in a relationship–a family, a marriage, a partnership, a friendship?

Perhaps it’s part of being a supporter yourself.

Have you done anything for an artist lately?

Bought a ticket to a play or musical performance? Purchased a book, listened to a poetry reading? Do you have original artwork on your walls? Have you encouraged a kid with an unusual talent?

William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Michelangelo, Wolfgang Mozart–all needed someone to help them. Could it have been you?

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Patrons of the arts–people who encourage and often monetarily provide for artists–have been the means by which a lot of great artistic works have been created.  Click to Tweet

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