Making Art and Making a Living: Adventures in Funding a Creative Life

by Mason Currey

Daily Rituals author Mason Currey weaves together delightful, illuminating stories and reflections about how famous artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers throughout history have managed to successfully (or not) support a creative life.

Many of us are drawn to a life in the arts but daunted by how to balance that ambition with the very real need to pay rent and put food on the table. It is impossible to become an accomplished painter, composer, or novelist without spending time experimenting, making false starts, absorbing criticism, reading, talking, and moping about the house. All this time must be purchased, one way or another. Is the history of art and ideas just a history of rich kids?

The answer, of course, is no. William Carlos Williams was a family doctor. Franz Kafka was an insurance man, as were Charles Ives and Wallace Stevens. Grace Hartigan temped. James Joyce mooched off his brother; Christopher Isherwood ingratiated himself with a wealthy uncle. Virginia Woolf and Louisa May Alcott were determined to make their writing pay no matter what. And their material circumstances had an impact on all of their creative outputs.

From family money to jobs to colorful schemes, Mason Currey, author of the acclaimed Daily Rituals, explores both the well-worn and unlikely paths forward for the up-and-coming artist. Making Art and Making a Living is an entertaining and thought-provoking examination of the collision of creative ambitions with real-world necessities and of the messy, glorious, torturous compromises that gifted individuals have patched together when facing the eternal dilemma of an artistic life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art

240 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication March 31, 2026

About the author

Mason Currey is the author of the Daily Rituals books—Daily Rituals: How Artists Work (2013) and Daily Rituals: Women at Work (2019)—featuring brief profiles of the day-to-day work lives of more than 300 brilliant minds. His next book, Making Art and Making a Living, comes out on March 31, 2026.

Currey lives in Los Angeles and writes Subtle Maneuvers, a twice-monthly newsletter on the creative process.

Reviews

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a how-to book on funding your creative life. Rather, it is a compendium of ways artists over the centuries have done so. The author covers everything from having rich parents to a side hustle as a stripper. Vonnegut worked in PR, many writers and poets worked in Insurance. Jeff Koons hawked memberships at MOMA. Some scored grants and endowments (when such investments from the government existed). Others married well (meaning their spouse's work supported them). The point is, they did what they could until they sold enough of their work to subsist, at least for a while.

It's depressing how difficult it can be to make a living as an artist. As someone who worked full-time and tried (and often failed) to squeeze in time for creativity, I certainly relate. There are no answers in this book. Despite that, many of the stories are interesting, and the author does an excellent job recounting them and adding his perspective.

My thanks to the author, @MasonCurrey, @CeladonBooks, and #NetGalley for early access to the ebook for review purposes. Publication date: 31 March 2026.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lively exploration of how artists throughout history managed to support themselves while crafting their paintings, photographs, poetry, novels, music, and beyond.
Thank you Mason Currey, Net Galley and Celadon Books for the arc. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

[Michelle Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Making Art and Making a Living by Mason Currey is a delightful romp through the history of artists and how they supported themselves while creating their paintings, photographs, poetry, novels, music, and more. I thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to look for other books by Currie.

[Jessica Brainard]

Mason Currey’s Making Art and Making a Living is an insightful and practical exploration of the often-overlooked financial realities of creative work. Known for his previous book Daily Rituals, Currey once again blends research with real-life stories, this time focusing on how artists, writers, and other creatives sustain themselves financially while pursuing their passions.
The book is structured around candid interviews and case studies, offering a wide range of strategies—from traditional patronage and grants to modern approaches like crowdfunding and teaching. Currey doesn’t romanticize the struggle; instead, he provides a nuanced look at the compromises and ingenuity required to balance art and livelihood. What makes this book compelling is its honesty: it acknowledges that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, and success often involves a mix of persistence, adaptability, and luck.
Strengths:

Rich, diverse examples of real creatives navigating financial challenges.
Practical advice without sugarcoating the difficulties.
Engaging, conversational tone that makes complex topics accessible.

Potential Drawbacks:

While inspiring, some readers may find the lack of a clear “roadmap” frustrating; the book emphasizes individuality over prescriptive steps.
Focuses primarily on Western creative economies, which might feel less relevant globally.

Verdict:
If you’re an artist or creative professional—or simply curious about the intersection of art and money—this book is both illuminating and reassuring. It reminds readers that making a living from art is possible, but rarely straightforward, and offers a wealth of ideas for navigating that journey.

[Kelly Brill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! Mason Currey dives into the question of how artists survive financially. He gives anecdotes into the lives of myriad painters, composers, writers and other creatives - from Petrarch to Virginia Woolf to Fernando Pessoa to William Carlos Williams to many I'd never heard of but was happy to be introduced to. Some relied on patrons (Haydn for example), some begged their family members and friends for money, some had side jobs, many barely scraped by. Currey explores this question in depth, and from different angles. Is it better to have a day job that is similar to your passion? Or something that doesn't require much thought at all? I was entertained in many places - and also left amazed by how much people will endure in order to follow their muses. He ends with this: "...what I love about the artists in this book is their embrace of...possibility, of giving yourself permission, of staying true to your instincts..." (As opposed to the "kind of stingy, withholding, resentful energy that seems to be trending in our society..."). Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Kayla Groening · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very surprising, in a great way!

I had expected it to be more of a manual on how fund an art career. However, I was happy to find out this was not the case. The book gathers stories from a diverse group of creatives (visual artists, photographers, writers, poets, etc.) and examines how they have funded their creative lives.

I had also expected the book to be serious and directive. It was not. It was humorous and exploratory! I loved learning the many daring, nefarious, enchanting, and unorthodox ways each artist used to live and create.

I listened to the audiobook. The narrator (Adam Verner) did a fantastic job bringing the stories to life. It was a pleasure to listen to.