Originally Posted by
Scott Davis
There has been a long history of excusing artists of what general society considers misbehavior due to their artistic "greatness". It's not of course a settled matter. But we're both indulging in speculative history, because he did produce great work both before and after he left his wife for his models. I tend to favor the idea that those possessed of artistic vision will express it no matter the circumstances, and while hardship or comfort will influence the output, neither hardship nor comfort will prevent it from happening.
I don't know about EW's personal relationships with his models - at what point did the relationship transform from professional to intimate? I'm not excusing the behavior either, but I have less of an ethical quandary over the transformation of the relationship if it were a case of "hey, we've been working together for three, six, whatever months now, do you feel the same way that I feel?" as opposed to, "So we're going to take some pictures today...what's your name again? and then the SEX!".
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