Posthumous Success

Innokenty Annensky, Thomas Eakins, Nathan Hale, Emily Dickinson, Vincent Van Gogh.  What do these five people have in common?  Not only are they just a few of some of the greatest contributors to our society, but there is also something else: each of these five have all achieved their peak fame posthumously.

Innokenty Annensky, now a famous poet, is known for his second and final book titled Cypress Box.  However, outside the walls of Tsarskoye Selo, where Annensky spent his final years, fame was never something he was familiar with.

Throughout the course of artist Thomas Eakins’s life, he sold a total of a mere thirty paintings.  His profound ability to paint subjects in the realm of realism was not recognized for all it was worth until many years after his death in 1916.

Patriot Nathan Hale lived a quiet life as a teacher from Connecticut until he was recruited by the United States Military as an intelligence agent during the Revolutionary War.  Caught by the British in their territory, Hale was captured and hanged on September 22, 1776.  That fateful day he exclaimed an all too famous quote that resounds in classrooms across the globe today: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”  He is now known as the epitome of a loyal citizen, but was never praised this much during his living years.

Emily Dickinson, one of the great female American poets, spent most of her years inside of her Massachusetts home, writing poetry that hardly anyone knew about, with the exception of some prolific writers.  Unfortunately, Dickinson only lived to see seven of her poems published, the rest of them gaining glory after her death along with her illustrious legacy.

When one thinks of creators of artistic masterpieces, Vincent Van Gogh immediately comes to mind.  With his brilliant hues and use of rough brushwork, he created some of the most iconic paintings such as The Starry Night (1889).  However, during his lifetime he only sold one painting titled Red Vineyard at Arles (1888).

Among all of these influential people, why is it that they are only famous now that they have passed on?  While it is difficult to say, there is some consensus that it is due to the fact that since the figure is gone, it is physically impossible for them to create any more works.  This plays on both the emotional and monetary value of the creator’s products.  Because he is gone, the only pieces of him that are left are his works.  Also, because there is only a numbered amount of pieces out there, prices automatically increase due to the laws of supply and demand.

However, this is not applicable to all figures, especially not Nathan Hale.  Because he did something extraordinary in his last few moments, he is regarded as a hero in his own light.