In a decaying society, art, if it is truthful, must also reflect decay. And unless it wants to break faith read more

In a decaying society, art, if it is truthful, must also reflect decay. And unless it wants to break faith with its social function, art must show the world as changeable. And help to change it.

All that I desire to point out is the general principle that life imitates art far more than art imitates read more

All that I desire to point out is the general principle that life imitates art far more than art imitates life.

Of all the arts in which the wise excel, nature's chief masterpiece is writing well.

Of all the arts in which the wise excel, nature's chief masterpiece is writing well.

Art consists of limitation. The most beautiful part of every picture is the frame.

Art consists of limitation. The most beautiful part of every picture is the frame.

The fact that writers will go through so much to remain writers says something, perhaps everything. It would be far read more

The fact that writers will go through so much to remain writers says something, perhaps everything. It would be far easier (and nearly always more profitable) to become a real estate agent.

For me, painting is a way to forget life. It is a cry in the night, a strangled laugh.

For me, painting is a way to forget life. It is a cry in the night, a strangled laugh.

Pictures must not be too picturesque.

Pictures must not be too picturesque.

There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.

There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.

I think that one of the qualifications of artists should be a vow of celibacy. They should be confined to read more

I think that one of the qualifications of artists should be a vow of celibacy. They should be confined to ruining only their own lives.