For some artists, success is a dirty word. It could mean compromising integrity, or debasing innate creativity. Pablo Picasso, however, begged to differ. “It’s often been said that an artist ought to work for himself, for the ‘love of art,’ [and] that he ought to have contempt for success. Untrue!” he told his friend and fellow artist, Brassaï, in 1944. “An artist needs success.”
Picasso, of course, was speaking from experience. He’d come from humble beginnings, worked voraciously, and refused to compromise his artistic vision, no matter the trends or criticism. In the process, he’d achieved creative satisfaction, wide renown, and immense wealth.
It’s no wonder, then, that the famed Spanish modernist had a lot to say on the subject of success—something he believed that anyone could achieve, as long as they had the right recipe.