Twentieth-century art may start with nothing, but it flourishes by virtue of its belief in itself, in the possibility of read more

Twentieth-century art may start with nothing, but it flourishes by virtue of its belief in itself, in the possibility of control over what seems essentially uncontrollable, in the coherence of the inchoate, and in its ability to create its own values.

The artist is the opposite of the politically minded individual, the opposite of the reformer, the opposite of the idealist.

The artist is the opposite of the politically minded individual, the opposite of the reformer, the opposite of the idealist.

The negative is comparable to the composer's score and the print to its performance. Each performance differs in subtle ways.

The negative is comparable to the composer's score and the print to its performance. Each performance differs in subtle ways.

A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.

A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.

No, it is not only our fate but our business to lose innocence, and once we have lost that, it read more

No, it is not only our fate but our business to lose innocence, and once we have lost that, it is futile to attempt a picnic in Eden.

My mother said to me, "If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, read more

My mother said to me, "If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope." Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso.

We were as twinned lambs that did frisk i' th' sun,
And bleat the one at th' other. What read more

We were as twinned lambs that did frisk i' th' sun,
And bleat the one at th' other. What we changed
Was innocence for innocence; we knew not
The doctrine of ill-doing, nor dreamed
That any did.

What narrow innocence it is for one to be good only according to
the law.
[Lat., Quam angusta read more

What narrow innocence it is for one to be good only according to
the law.
[Lat., Quam angusta innocentia est, ad legem bonum esse.]

Each of the arts whose office is to refine, purify, adorn, embellish and grace life is under the patronage of read more

Each of the arts whose office is to refine, purify, adorn, embellish and grace life is under the patronage of a muse, no god being found worthy to preside over them.