My thesis paper will address the role of self promotion in the history of art from the 1950s to the present. I will begin my investigation by looking at the Abstract Expressionists of the 1950s, moving on to Pop Art in the 1960s, the California airbrush artists of the 1970s, and ending with the multidisciplinary artist Allee Willis and her creative network in Los Angeles during the 1980s and 1990s. My thesis project follows as an addendum to the timeline I will delineate. Capitalism imposes a distinct challenge on creativity, demanding that artists who desire longstanding success continually adapt to an ever-changing market. In the face of corrupt market and institutional forces, an artist is left with the option to self promote. All of the aforementioned artists achieved prestige by adapting to the forces that drive a Capitalist society in unique and innovative ways.