Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,159,190 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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“The artist is the bearer of life.”
Bram van Velde (1895–1981) said by 1981 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“An artist’s life is all very fine and moving. But only in retrospect. In books.”
Bram van Velde (1895–1981) said by 1981 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Most people's lives are governed by willpower. An artist is someone who has no will.”
Bram van Velde (1895–1981) said by 1981 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Writing is not a profession but a vocation of unhappiness. I don't think an artist can ever be happy.”
Georges Simenon (1903–1989) first seen 1955 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interviewed in Paris Review, Summer 1955; reprinted in Malcolm Cowley (ed.) Writers at Work (New York: Viking Press, 1959) p. 146.
“I think that fashion and music go hand-in-hand, and they always should. It's the artist's job to create imagery that matches the music... I think they're very intertwined.”
“Right now the only thing that I am concerned with in my life is being an artist … I had to suppress it for so many years in high school because I was made fun of but now I'm completely insulated in my box of insanity and I can do whatever I like.”
“The truly modern artist is aware of abstraction in an emotion of beauty; he is conscious of the fact that the emotion of beauty is cosmic, universal. This conscious recognition has for its corollary an abstract plasticism, for man adheres only to what is universal.”
Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) said by 1944 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Composition allows the artist the greatest possible freedom, so that his subjectivity can express itself, to a certain degree, for as long as needed.”
Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) said by 1944 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In terms of composition the new plasticism is dualistic. Through the exact reconstruction of cosmic relations it is a direct expression of the universal; by its rhythm, by the material reality of its plastic form, it expresses the artist's individual subjectivity. It thus unfolds before us a whole world of universal beauty without thereby renouncing the human element.”
Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) said by 1944 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I very much like Arp's things. I consider him the only 'pure' artist after Neo/Plasticism.”
Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) first seen 1931 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In a letter to his friend architect Alfred Roth, 19 November 1931; as quoted in Mondrian, - The Art of Destruction, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 204
“[...that the] dwarfes don't have enough time to help me themselves but send squirrels and birds. [referring to artist-friends who had helped him to settle in London.”
Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) said by 1944 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“..the idea that an artist is nothing unless he accepts the total responsibility for everything that he does.. ..by making a responsible move that he makes a statement.. .You can make a picture out of truth.”
Clyfford Still (1904–1980) first seen 1978 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In: 'A period of Exploration', McChesney, as quoted in The New York school – the painters & sculptors of the fifties, Irving Sandler, Harper & Row, Publishers, 1978, p 35
“The metaphysical forms which compose our futurist pictures are the result of realities conceived and realities created entirely by the artist. These last are inspired by the emotion or intuition and dependent on atmosphere-ambience.”
Gino Severini (1883–1966) first seen 1913 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 'Art du fantastique dans le sacre', as cited in Gino Severini Ecrits sur l'art, (1913-1962), with a preface by Serge Fauchereau, (Paris: Editions Cercle d'Art, 1987), p. 47
“Every artist's problem today is: What will we do with the human?”
Mark Tobey (1890–1976) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote from exhibition catalogue, Mark Tobey, 1951, as cited in Abstract Expressionist Painting in America, W.C, Seitz, Cambridge Massachusetts, 1983, p.13
“An artist must find his expression closely linked to his individual experience or else follow in the old grooves resulting in lifeless forms.”
Mark Tobey (1890–1976) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mark Tobey Retrospective Exhibition, New York, Whitney Museum, 1951
“The artist who uses the least of what is called imagination, will be the greatest!”
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) said by 1919 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in: Giles Auty (1977) The Art of Self-Deception: An Intelligible Guide, p. 88
“I wish to call special attention to the psychological fact, that fairies and demons, remote as they are from experience, are not created by a more vigorous effort of imagination than milk maids and poachers. The intensity of vision in the artist and of vividness in his creations are the sole tests of his imaginative power.”
George Henry Lewes (1817–1878) said by 1878 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The selective instinct of the artist tells him when his language should be homely, and when it should be more elevated; and it is precisely in the imperceptible blending of the plain with the ornate that a great writer is distinguished. He uses the simplest phrases without triviality, and the grandest without a suggestion of grandiloquence.”
George Henry Lewes (1817–1878) said by 1878 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[on w:Diego Rivera:] ..the one artist on this continent who is in the class of the old masters.”
John Sloan (1871–1951) said by 1951 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In: Brooks, Van Wyck. John Sloan: a Painter's Life. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co, 1955, p. 170
“I am a humble artist moulding my earthly clod, adding my labour to nature's, simply assisting God. Not that my labour is needed, yet somehow I understand, my Maker has deemed it that I too should have Unmoulded clay in my hand.”
Piet Hein (1905–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I tend to be mostly a futurist but it would be negligent of me to not acknowledge the incredible impact this last year has had on me. 1 year ago, 143 came out and I took the weekend to reflect. Records are snapshots of an artist trying to tell their story of where they are now or have been, and hope someone will hear themselves in some of the messages.”
Katy Perry (born 1984) first seen 2025 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Katy Perry admits she's been 'beloved, tested and tried' amid Orlando Bloom split Hello Magazine (September 24, 2025).
“The naturalness of life... the sense of community is, I think, a very important factor in an artist's life.”
Barbara Hepworth (1903–1975) first seen 1970 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A Pictorial Biography" (Tate Publishing, London, 1970)
“The mind is like a sea, few are those who dare sail, most stand on the shore and watch. Artist pages. (A.S.)”
Avner Strauss (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The greatest blessing that one can get from music is that it makes an artist immensely satisfied with life irrespective of the financial condition in which they may be.”
Ram Narayan (1927–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A scientist, an artist, a citizen is not like a child who needs papa methodology and mama rationality to give him security and direction, he can take care of himself, for he is the inventor not only of laws, theories, pictures, plays, forms of music, ways of dealing with his fellow man, institutions, but also entire world view, he is the inventor of entire forms of like.”
Paul Karl Feyerabend (1924–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People who hadn't noticed me, or who had written me off as a game show host, started to reassess me. There were people who hadn't seen me as a stand-up artist and liked it. Suddenly I was in fashion again.”
Bob Monkhouse (1928–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A great cricketer must be an artist and express himself in his strokes.”
Margaret Hughes (1919–2005) first seen 1953 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: All On A Summer's Day (1953).
“My work has always been political, because the choice of being an artist is political in China.”
“To protect the right of expression is the central part of an artist’s activity. . . . . In China many essential rights are lacking, and I wanted to remind people of this.”
“'Why are you so concerned about society?' That is always the question. And my answer is simple: 'Because you are an artist, you have to associate yourself with freedom of expression.'”
“We have to give our opinion, we have to say something, or we are a part of it. As an artist I am forced to say something.”
“Being an artist is more of a mindset, a way of seeing things; it is no longer so much about producing something.”
“I don’t see myself as a dissident artist. I see them as a dissident government!”
Ai Weiwei (born 1957) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ai Weiwei Twitter feed: @AiWW (January 25, 2012)
“I think it’s a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression and to use any way to extend this power.”
“On the Internet, people do not know each other, they don’t have common leaders, sometimes not even a common political goal. But they come together on certain issues. I think that is a miracle. It never happened in the past. Without the Internet, I would not even be Ai Weiwei today. I would just be an artist somewhere doing my shows.”
“As an artist, I am very familiar with how to show the details, how to transform them into a language people can understand. They [the government] know that the Internet is a strong force, unbearable for them.”
“I’m an artist who is always looking for what is possible. I’m always looking to extend the boundaries.”
“I do not subscribe to the theory that when a popular member of the company leaves, it is the end of the world — that things will never be the same again. Of course they won't, for each artist leaves something of himself or herself in a role.”
John Reed (actor) first seen 1975 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 100 years of D'Oyly Carte and Gilbert and Sullivan (1975).
“An artist needs knowledge and the power of observation only so that he can tell from what he is abstaining, and to be sure that his abstention will not appear artificial or false.”
Andrei Tarkovsky (1932–1986) first seen 1970 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Journal entry (7 July 1980); published in Time Within Time: The Diaries 1970-1986 (1989)
“Becoming an artist does not merely mean learning something, acquiring professional techniques and methods. Indeed, as someone has said, in order to write well you have to forget the grammar.”
Andrei Tarkovsky (1932–1986) said by 1986 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is perfectly possible to be a professional director or a professional writer and not to be an artist: merely a sort of executor of other people's ideas.”
Andrei Tarkovsky (1932–1986) said by 1986 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One can only be staggered by the hubris of modern artists if we compare them, say, to the humble builders of Chartres Cathedral whose names are not even known. The artist ought to be distinguished by selfless devotion to duty; but we forgot about that a long time ago.”
Andrei Tarkovsky (1932–1986) said by 1986 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Transforming leadership, [is defined as] leadership that builds on man's need for meaning, leadership that creates institutional purpose … he is the value-shaper, the exemplar, the maker of meanings … he is the true artist, the true pathfinder.”
Tom Peters (born 1942) first seen 1986 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: p. 82 as cited in: Amir Levy, Uri Merry (1986) Organizational Transformation: Approaches Strategies, and Theories. p. 52.
“Patchwork? Ah, no! It was memory, imagination, history, biography, joy, sorrow, philosophy, religion, romance, realism, life, love and death; and over all, like a halo, the love of the artist for his work and the soul's longing for earthly immortality.”
Eliza Calvert Hall (1856–1935) first seen 1907 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hall, Eliza Calvert. Aunt Jane of Kentucky. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1907. Aunt Jane's Album p. 82.
“It takes only one man to make an artist, but forty to make an Academician.”
Aubrey Beardsley (1872–1898) said by 1898 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What is a portrait good for, unless it shows just how the subject was seen by the painter? In the old days before photography came in a sitter had a perfect right to say to the artist: "Paint me just as I am." Now if he wishes absolute fidelity he can go to the photographer and get it.”
Aubrey Beardsley (1872–1898) said by 1898 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Aubrey Beardsley : A Biography (1999) by Matthew Sturgis, p. 189
“I want to grow as an artist and I'm taking a step out, I want my music to mature.”
Justin Bieber (born 1994) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Radio interview to Power 106, as quoted in Daily Mail, 'I'm retiring man': Justin Bieber announces that he's quitting his career as a singer during interview on national radio, 18 December 2013
“I am a performing artist; I perform admiration. Come with me, I want my poems to say. And do the same.”
Mary Oliver (1935–2019) said by 2019 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I was been raised to believe I was an artist. I believed what my parents said and fulfilled it, like a prophecy.”
Ariel Pink (born 1978) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Before Today you may have considered Ariel Pink quite kitsch (July 10, 2010)
“Limitations force you to find the essence of what you want to say, which is one of the most important things to know for an artist.”
Julie Taymor (born 1952) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Oh, girl : A Talk with Julie Taymor" at Subtitles to Cinema (2 September 2008)