This conversation explores what artists need to sustain their practice, why affordable housing matters for creative communities, and how to honor an artist's legacy without sacrificing your own life in the process.
The post What to do with 400 paintings: artist legacy and economic reality with Alissa Quart (243) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>Families reach out to me regularly about what to do with an artist’s work after they’ve passed. It’s a conversation most artists avoid having, which leaves loved ones guessing about what matters and what doesn’t.
Alissa Quart didn’t have that luxury. When her 90-year-old mother Barbara Quart received a terminal diagnosis in March 2025, they had to act quickly.
Barbara had spent 30 years painting almost daily, creating works influenced by Richard Diebenkorn, Alice Neel, and Claude Monet. She’d never been part of the gallery system or an MFA program. She just followed her vision.
Alissa’s solution for rehoming 400 paintings was practical and radical. She started giving paintings away and selling them at accessible prices to people in her building, her mother’s neighbors in the Berkshires, even the person who cleaned out the house.
The goal was simple: place the art with people who would cherish it, in places where Alissa could still see her mother’s work.
Then she wrote about it in the New York Times and everything changed. Within days, she received over 300 requests to buy paintings. Art professors and professional painters reached out to say Barbara’s work was genuinely good.
At 90, Barbara finally got validation for all of her hard work.
But our conversation goes beyond one family’s story. We dig into what artists actually need to thrive. Barbara could paint for three decades because she had rent-controlled housing, an affordable studio nearby, and a community of artists who shaped her thinking. Those circumstances are nearly impossible to replicate today.
This conversation will shift how you think about legacy, community, and what it takes to sustain a creative practice over time.
Listen
Update from Alissa
With the crucial help of librarian Kira Smith, I have created a catalogue of her paintings, so that people who are interested in acquiring one can now do so. I am excited about this moment.
We have decided to charge from $500 to $1,200 for different pieces. (If you are economically struggling and can explain your situation to me, we can talk about pricing further.) One of my goals is to find appreciative homes.
The list has clickable links so that you can view each painting—just click on the link for “Image.” Once you have decided on a painting, please email me and we’ll send you the billing and estimated shipping info (it’s an easy process).
Have one honest conversation about your art with someone who might inherit it or help place it after you are no longer able to do so.
Alissa Quart Quotes
“Artists need to be in community to make really good work and to influence each other. And then they also need to do it for a long time… You need the worker ants not just the queen bees.”
“Some of the stigma of selling in community, not going through the gallery system, has to change.”
I’m trying to honor my mom, but at some point, I am feeling like, is this, is this necessary? Do I need to do this? … when do you stop building somebody’s legacy?”
“It’s not really only about the artist or the author, it’s about the world in which they are communicating.”
“Painting is the promise that our consciousness can persist beyond the hand that picked up the brush.”
Mentioned
The Slip by Prudence Pfifer
The Death of the Artist by William Deresiewicz
Peter Hastings Falk, art historian
Alissa’s article in the New York Times: “My Mother, the Artist, Discovered at 90”
About Alissa Quart
Alissa Quart is the author of five acclaimed books of nonfiction including her most recent, Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream. She also wrote two books of poetry has written for many publications including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and TIME.
Alissa is the Executive Director of the non-profit Economic Hardship Reporting Project. Her honors include an Emmy, an SPJ award and a Nieman fellowship. She lives with her family in Brooklyn.
Follow Alissa on Instagram: @alissaquart
And follow Barbara’s paintings: @barbaraquartpainter
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]]>We spend the first half of our conversation talking about how the book came to be. Then we discuss the advantages, benefits and challenges of becoming an artist after age 60.
The post Spotlighting artists who bloom later in life with Janice Mason Steeves (181) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>We know that an awful lot of people over 60 are taking up art.
And we know that many of them are thriving. So why isn’t more being written about this phenomenon. Or discussed for that matter?
I tried to find answers in Nell Painter’s memoir Old in Art School (2018), which is about her experience going back to art school at age 64—more than 3 decades after receiving her PhD in history from Harvard. But regardless of that title, it wasn’t very enlightening about the topic of being a late-blooming artist.
[ This article contains two affiliate links. I’ll earn a crazy huge commission on these paperbacks if you purchase from my links. 
]
In this episode of The Art Biz, we’re going to talk about coming to art later in life.
My guest is Janice Mason Steeves, author of Bloom: On Becoming An Artist Later in Life. Which, as I say in our interview, is “a lovely mix of insights from a questionnaire, gentle guidance from someone who teaches and leads artist workshops all over the world, and wisdom from academics, professionals, and spiritual advisors.”
Janice will share her background and the realization that the students in her workshops tended to be in the 60 to 80 age group. This piqued her curiosity about taking up art later in life.
We spend the first half of our conversation talking about how the book came to be. Then we discuss the advantages, benefits and challenges of becoming an artist after age 60.
I, of course, want to know about how artists over 60 approach the business of art, but that’s not Janice’s concern.
I have some experience that perhaps will lead to a future episode. Hearing from you in the comments will help.
Janice has been in my orbit for a long time and I have been dying to talk with her about this book, the seeds of which she mentioned to me about 4 years ago. It’s a book that needed to be written and proves that we have a lot more to talk about this topic.
But let’s kick off the conversation.
Listen
Janice Mason Steeves Quotes
“These were people who were being ignored in society.”
“All of us want to sell the art we make. It’s important to your self-esteem to be able to sell it.”
“I think a huge part of developing yourself is figuring out how to sell.”
“Nobody takes you seriously, whatever you say as an artist at the beginning, because nobody believes you know anything.”
“There’s a a point at which you say, okay, well I’m not gonna get any better unless I give myself some kind of space to work at home.”
“Go ahead and do it no matter what age you are.”
“Calling yourself an artist is changing identity.”
[ How Do You Know When You’re an Artist? with James Holmes ]
Related Episodes
I’ve been lucky to have a number of artist-authors on The Art Biz. Here are a few of them.
About My Guest
Born in Saskatchewan, Janice Mason Steeves has an M.A. in Clinical Psychology. Her inspiration comes from her experiences in wild and remote places where she has spent time painting and teaching.
Janice is passionate about helping artists form a deeper connection to the earth. She has developed an art program called Workshops in Wild Places where students travel to remote locations worldwide to experience and paint the power of wild landscapes.
Her recent book, Bloom: On Becoming an Artist Later in Life, is an inspirational look at how our older years can be a time of inner soul work and continued growth through creativity.
Follow her on Instagram @janicemasonsteeves
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]]>This conversation is especially important for artists, who make things that take up physical space. How do you categorize those things? What kind of records need to be kept? And what, if anything, should be destroyed, reworked, or donated?
The post Proactively planning your art legacy with Heather K. Powers (143) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
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This conversation is especially important for artists, who make things that take up physical space. How do you categorize those things? What kind of records need to be kept? And what, if anything, should be destroyed (see images below), reworked, or donated?
[ See The Best Idea for Unloading Unsold Art ]
These are difficult questions and will vary from artist to artist, but it is such an important part of planning your art legacy. My conversation with Heather can help you get started.
Listen
📄 This Week's Assignment
Your assignment this week is to start thinking about your legacy. Eventually you will need to prioritize the tasks necessary, but you can’t do it all at once.
Take one of these steps: sign up for Artwork Archive, update your inventory, finally recycle that work you don’t want to show up under your name, have a conversation with your family about your wishes, or declutter a space.
We have high level conversations like this in the Art Biz Accelerator. I’d love for you to join us.
for busy artists who like knowing there is someone nearby to help
Highlights
- Normalizing conversations about your death and legacy. (2:10)
- Heather’s coaching process includes getting more comfortable talking about death. (6:48)
- What do you value in your legacy? How can artists better prepare their legacy for after death? (10:28)
- Finding the value of clutter requires understanding and compassion. (15:27)
- Destroying the artwork that you don’t want to be known for. (19:19) See images below.
- Define the value of each level of your work so you can better process it. (24:55)
- Tools and resources to help document your art. (32:32)
Mentioned
Images from the art destruction party hosted by Gail Frasier and Marilynn Brandenburger.
Heather K. Powers Quotes
- “Death is a normal part of life, but the more we put off thinking or talking about it the more uncomfortable it becomes.”
- “We can take into our own hands what is important to us as a generation and pass it on to the next generation.”
- “What do you value in your legacy? And what do you perceive might be of value to others? Those things are often not in alignment.”
- “Start early and keep good records. It doesn’t have to be that complicated.”
- “When we get rid of work one way or another, we make space for new work to come in.”
Related Episodes
These artists talk about legacy in our conversations.
See also Heather’s first appearance on the podcast: Creative Organizing (ep. 10)
Cautionary Tales
Henry Darger left his life’s work in a tiny apartment and at the mercy of his landlord, who found it and, blessedly, saved it. But now they’re in litigation with his distant relatives.
Mark Rothko, one of my favorite artists of all time, left a disaster for his 19-year-old daughter to oversee. It took 4 years in court.
About My Guest
With a BFA in Fiber from Savannah College of Art and Design, Heather K. Powers has had a productive career as a textile designer—collaborating on worldwide projects in various capacities.
In 2010, she launched her design and professional organizing business. Her work as an organizer places her among artists, craftspeople, and collectors, which gives her an intimate understanding of how individuals retain, use, and live with material culture.
In 2021, Heather graduated with an MFA in Critical Craft. She continues to research textile history, weave, and use natural dye techniques in which her work investigates memory, place, and identity themes through discarded vintage ephemera and materials.
Please visit her website to find out how she works with her clients in person and online and follow her on Instagram @hkpowerstudio.
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