Art Quotes by Robert Henri

“Those who express even a little of themselves never become old-fashioned.”

— Robert Henri

No work of Art is really ever finished. They only stop at good places.

— Robert Henri

All real works of art look as though they were done in joy.

— Robert Henri

There is no art without contemplation.

— Robert Henri

The real artist's work is a surprise to himself.

— Robert Henri

Art is an outsider, a gypsy over the face of the earth.

— Robert Henri

An artist's job is to surprise himself. Use all means possible.

— Robert Henri

Art is certainly not a pursuit for anyone who wants to make money.

— Robert Henri

Everything depends on the attitude of the artist toward his subject. It is essential.

— Robert Henri

The object isn't to make art, it's to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.

— Robert Henri

An artist must have imagination. An artist who does not use his imagination is a mechanic.

— Robert Henri

After all, the goal is not making art. It is living a life. Those who live their lives will leave the stuff…

— Robert Henri

It is the common defect of modern art study. Too many students do not know why they draw.

— Robert Henri

If the artist's will is not strong he will see all kinds of unessential things.

— Robert Henri

“The end will be what it will be. The object is intense living, fulfillment; the great happiness in creation.”

— Robert Henri

I have heard it very often said that an artist does not need intelligence, that his is the province of the soul

— Robert Henri

Art cannot be separated from life. It is the expression of the greatest need of which life is capable, and we value…

— Robert Henri

There is only one reason for art in America, and that is that the people of America learn the means of expressing…

— Robert Henri

There are people who buy pictures because they were difficult to do, and are done. Such pictures are often only a record…

— Robert Henri

Strokes carry a message whether you will it or not. The stroke is just like the artist at the time he makes…

— Robert Henri

Good composition is like a suspension bridge; each line adds strength and takes none away... Making lines run into each other is…

— Robert Henri

Art need not be intended. It comes inevitably as the tree from the root, the branch from the trunk, the blossom from…

— Robert Henri

Art when really understood is the province of every human being. It is simply a question of doing things, anything, well. It…

— Robert Henri

“A GREAT PAINTER will know a great deal about how he did it, but still he will say, “How did I do…

— Robert Henri

“Be game--take a chance--don't hide behind veils and veils of discretion... Go forward with what you have to say, expressing things as…

— Robert Henri

The man who has honesty, integrity, the love of inquiry, the desire to see beyond, is ready to appreciate good art. He…

— Robert Henri

It is harder to see than it is to express. The whole value of art rests in the artist's ability to see…

— Robert Henri

The world will see many fashions of art and most of the world will follow the fashions and make none. These cults…

— Robert Henri

“There are men who, at the bottom of the ladder, battle to rise; they study, struggle, keep their wits alive and eventually…

— Robert Henri

The object, which is back of every true work of art, is the attainment of a state of being, a state of…

— Robert Henri

“I have no sympathy with the belief that art is the restricted province of those who paint, sculpt, make music and verse.…

— Robert Henri

“If a new movement in art comes along be awake to it, study it, but don’t belong to it. Have a personal…

— Robert Henri

“Through art mysterious bonds of understanding and of knowledge are established among men. They are the bonds of a great Brotherhood. Those…

— Robert Henri

“If we are cultivating fruit in an orchard, we wish that particular fruit to grow in its own way; we give it…

— Robert Henri

“All my life I have refused to be for or against parties, for or against nations, for or against people. I never…

— Robert Henri

Art appreciation, like love, cannot be done by proxy.

— Robert Henri

Do whatever you do intensely. The artist is the man who leaves the crowd and goes pioneering. With him there is an…

— Robert Henri

Artists must be men of wit, consciously or unconsciously philosophers; read, study and think a great deal of life...

— Robert Henri

Through art mysterious bonds of understanding and of knowledge are established among men.

— Robert Henri

The man who has honesty, integrity, the love of inquiry, the desire to see beyond, is ready to appreciate good art.

— Robert Henri