I always like referring to this John Adams quote:
"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain."
I consider 'study' and 'work' interchangeably here. Effectively saying that as the generations progress and we become prosperous and strong enough as a culture, there will be an emergence of people who can sit around and focus on the arts, enjoy leisure, create beautiful things for all to enjoy.
My problem is, we somewhat have that today. Except most of the artists and poets are underemployed / forced to work 'day jobs' and often don't have enough time to be able to pursue their passions.