Age and the Quality of Work: The Case of Modern American Painters / David W. Galenson, Bruce A. Weinberg.

By:

Galenson, David W

Contributor(s):

Material type: Text

TextSeries: Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) ; no. w7122.Publication details: Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 1999.Description: 1 online resource: illustrations (black and white)Subject(s):

J24 - Human Capital • Skills • Occupational Choice • Labor Productivity

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Abstract: Psychologists have found that the age at which successful practitioners typically do their best work varies across professions, but they have not considered whether these peak ages change over time, as economic models suggest they might. Using auction records, we estimate the relationship between artists' ages and the value of their paintings for two successive cohorts of modern American painters. We find that a substantial decline occurred over time in the age at which these artists produced their most valuable - and most important - work, and argue that this was caused by a shift in the nature of the demand for modern art during the 1950s.

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Holdings
Item type	Home library	Collection	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Working Paper	Biblioteca Digital	Colección NBER	nber w7122 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Not For Loan

Total holds: 0

May 1999.

Psychologists have found that the age at which successful practitioners typically do their best work varies across professions, but they have not considered whether these peak ages change over time, as economic models suggest they might. Using auction records, we estimate the relationship between artists' ages and the value of their paintings for two successive cohorts of modern American painters. We find that a substantial decline occurred over time in the age at which these artists produced their most valuable - and most important - work, and argue that this was caused by a shift in the nature of the demand for modern art during the 1950s.