"The industries of culture have a stake in perpetuating artistic myths because an idol is invaluable for marketing. It’s diabolically hard to sell a cultural product on its merits alone. Look around: Nearly all arts publicity is backstory. About the maker. About a work’s origin. About anything except that which was intended to speak for itself.
We’re willing to admit that, in our own times, cultural glory may be won due to petty considerations: patronage, personal attractiveness, a genius for friendship, where you’re born, which class you’re born into. Yet we cling to a weird faith that the best work ultimately find its rightful place."


https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-romanticize-artists-behaved-terribly