Is Art Distinct from its Artist?

Ta-Nehisi Coates asks, “How does one deal with finding out that one of your most beloved artworks was created by a man or woman whose personal behavior is (or was) odious? … Art is (theoretically) eternal, but artists all wind up in the grave sooner or later. As a result, we should probably realize that there’s an important distinction between the two, and that art ultimately exists independently of the human mind that gave it to the world. Extending that logic a bit more, you could even say that art is akin to an artist’s child, and so we shouldn’t blame the progeny for the sins of the parent.”