Kubler's, "The shape of time", gives fascinating insight on how "luck," as he says, might define who becomes a well know artist and those who might have had the same talent but didn't make it.
He says, "Times and opportunities differ more than the degree of talent." This reinforces the idea of being lucky and growing up at the right time in the right place. For example, it might be easier for someone who was born in a family of well known artists to become a famous artist himself, rather than someone who was born in the streets with the same or even more impressive talent to make it to fame. This is what happens to undiscovered talents. Furthermore, he identifies temperament and timing of entrance as the factors that will define the individual's chance of success and achievement. Another concept that he talks about and I found very interesting was the metaphor about the life cycle and how that relates to art and history. It explains how the life cycle is sustained by one unchanged principle of organization just like style is in art. It is not as we sometimes assume, that one historical style is unprecedented, but actually a recurring theme that was transformed into that specific style depending on the different environments.