Art Quotes

Art has no history – there is only a continuous present.

True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist.

Art is the surest and safest civilizer.

Art helps nature, and experience art.

When a work of art appears to be in advance of its period, it is really the period that has lagged behind the work of art.

Another viewer describes the unsettling physical dimension of the aesthetic flow experience, which resembles the shock a body feels when diving into a pool of cold water: When I see works that come close to my heart, that I think are really fine, I have the strangest reaction: which is not always exhilarating, it is […]

As long as art is the beauty parlor of civilization, neither art nor civilization is secure.

Art is not a pastime but a priesthood.

Not only great works of art produce such intense flow experiences; for the trained eye, even the most mundane sights can be delightful. A man who lives in one of Chicago’s suburbs, and takes the elevated train to work every morning, says: “On a day like this, or days when it’s crystal clear, I just […]

There are only two styles of portrait painting, the serious and the smirk.