“The kind of elation I may have had back 30 years, I’m past that point,” said Howardena Pindell, who at 75 uses a walker and can no longer crawl up a ladder to execute her paintings, often collaged with hundreds of paper dots covered in layers of acrylic, dye, sequins, glitter and powder.

Like other artists of color discovered later in life, hers is a different kind of contentment: “It’s a more a sense of feeling protected and safe in terms of the vicissitudes of the art world.”

In interviews, several of these artists spoke of the urge to create new works, which can be physically demanding yet invigorating at the same time. And while all the new money flowing in would have been nice when they were raising families, they were happy to be able to provide some security for their children and grandchildren.

Still, they can only do so much. Alexander Gray, a New York dealer who represents Melvin Edwards, Lorraine O’Grady and Frank Bowling, said he has been guilty of overestimating the speed of his older artists. “With the enthusiasm of the marketplace,” he said, “we forget the age of these human beings and their physical capacity to travel all over the world, expected of an artist in the art world right now. I think it can be overwhelming.”

Ms. O’Grady, an 85-year-old conceptual artist, has been inundated with requests to appear on panels and make presentations. “Anything that involves travel at this point, she is declining,” said Mr. Gray. At 85, Mr. Bowling, who was born in Guyana and maintains studios in London and New York, has also put a moratorium on travel and interviews.