When we look at a painting, few of us are likely to think much about the artist's career. Yet many artists had fascinating and well-structured working lives; knowing about them makes looking at their work even more enjoyable. Books and lectures by art historians for lay audiences usually address style, subject, which paintings have influenced the artist, and the historical background of the painting.

Rosemary Stewart has a special interest in the nature of jobs, how people do them, and the characteristics of their careers. In this book Rosemary asks if artists plan and manage their careers; if they are merely driven by the market, fashion and fickle public taste; and if it is possible for an artist to seek professional advancement in the same way as other professionals.

Rosemary Stewart had a long career as a social scientist in management studies, with a special interest in the nature of jobs and careers. During her working life she taught and lectured in Australia, New Zealand, India, Sweden and the UK. Now retired, she has time to pursue her interests in art and artists, which she may have inherited from her maternal grandfather, Arthur J. Sulley, who was a famous art dealer in London. Rosemary lives in Oxford.