In the Wall Street Journal this weekend, Marianne Boesky goes to great lengths to establish herself as a self-made, and somewhat accidental, success:

She got a loan to rent a space on Greene Street and continued to add artists, eventually selling her apartment to open her current gallery in Chelsea. “I borrowed money to get started, and I’ve continued borrowing money to grow, and I just keep borrowing money,” she says, laughing. “I am a risk taker, but I have never defaulted on a single loan.” Her parents didn’t help finance the gallery. “It was not something that my parents were going to be in a position or have an interest in supporting and bankrolling,” she says.

Now, Ms. Boesky lives with her husband and daughter above the Chelsea gallery in an art-filled apartment. “My hope was just to be able to feed myself and keep the doors open,” she says. “It never occurred to me I’d be able to buy a house and a boat and all these things…but it’s a nice incidental benefit, no doubt about it.” She’s also glad to have been able to help artists have the same opportunities. “I like that artists don’t need to be burned-out hippies anymore.”

Marianne Boesky: In Search of Art Stars (WSJ)