This study examined the roles recognition of the creative process behind artworks plays in cognitive processes of art-viewing. To this end, we conducted an experiment (N = 45) in which prior experience of participants was manipulatedand investigated whether and how creative experience influences subsequent cognitive processes while viewing artworks.We revealed that having creative experience before art viewing changes viewers recognition of the creative process behindartworks and causes them to have a more positive impression of the artworks. It was also revealed that these two changesare correlated. In particular, the emotion of admiration, which is considered a kind of social emotion, was found to behighly correlated with the recognition of assessed difficulty of the creative process. These results suggest the importance ofrecognition of the creative process behind artworks and contribute to understanding the cognitive process of art-viewing.