Because it taught children across the country, Henson became a household name, and through Sesame Street toys, Henson became a millionaire….However, licensing toys, to Henson, felt like selling out.

The cage-match-to-the-death between art and business can be brutal, but Muppet-master Jim Henson seemed to broker a level of peace between the two.

In a Longreads highlight, Elizabeth Hyde Stevens explains how and why Henson was able to stay authentically creative while making a profit.