[Doctor Stochastic]

Hamlet comes to mind.

As does Ivanhoe.

[wideawake]

Hamlet was written to be performed - Shakespeare never imagined that he would be paid purely for the text of his plays, divorced from regular performances.

Ivanhoe is an interesting case - I find it to be painfully trite and not too many consider Scott to be a truly great writer - but it has been enduring.

Scott did write his anonymous historical novels mostly for the purpose of repaying his debts - so there was clearly a financial motive.

Good point.

[LexBaird]

Hamlet comes to mind.

As does Ivanhoe.

Why bother. Whatever example you produce, wideawake will find some way of disqualifing it as "great art" or "profitable".

You can't win an argument when the Rules of Engagement are a moving target. The fact that artists in every field of endeavor have managed to make a good living off of their art while creating enduring works will be shrugged off.

Nevertheless, off the top of my head:

Writers: Dumas, Verne, Dickens, Twain, Frost, Heinlein, Asimov, Machiavelli, Doyle

Artists: Rockwell, Parrish, Picasso, Dali, Shultz, Nast, Wyeth

Playwrights: Gershwin Bros., T. Williams, Shaw, Moliere, Mamet

Musicians/Composers: Presley, Sousa, Armstrong, B.B. King, Cohan, Smokey Robinson

Filmmakers: Disney, Welles, Hitchcock