Poor Artists follows aspiring artist Quest Talukdar through childhood obsessions, art school lessons and her professional debut. In surreal encounters with other artists, Quest learns profound truths about money and power, and must decide whether she cares more about success or staying true to herself. Blending imaginative storytelling with dialogue from anonymized interviews with real people in the art world who have all had to wrestle with the same decisions including a Turner Prize winner or two, a few ghosts, a Venice Biennale fraudster and a communist messiah Poor Artists is a powerful testimony to the emotional, existential and financial experience of artists today.

Format: Paperback
Published: 2025
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Pages: 320
Language: English
ISBN 10: 024163377X
ISBN 13: 9780241633779