--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As for a picture, if it isn't worth a…" description: "\"As for a picture, if it isn't worth a thousand words, the hell with it.\" — Ad Reinhardt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/ad-reinhardt-22386_design_as-for-a-picture-if-it-isn-t-worth-a-tho_569644.png" --- # As for a picture, if it isn't worth a thousand words, the… ![“As for a picture, if it isn't worth a thousand words, the hell with it.” quote by Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/ad-reinhardt-22386_design_as-for-a-picture-if-it-isn-t-worth-a-tho_569644.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/ad-reinhardt-22386_design_as-for-a-picture-if-it-isn-t-worth-a-tho_569644.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/ad-reinhardt-22386_design_as-for-a-picture-if-it-isn-t-worth-a-tho_569644.png) > “As for a picture, if it isn't worth a thousand words, the hell with it.” [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that if an image cannot convey a thousand words, it is worthless and should be dismissed. **In simple terms:** If a picture can't say much, ignore it. Key Takeaway Value images that communicate clearly. Themes art communication value Mood critical skeptical Type aphilosophical analytical When to use this quote - graphic design - photography - advertising - social media - education Key Concepts visual literacy expression Questions to Reflect On - What makes an image valuable beyond words? - Can a picture convey emotion without words? A Different Perspective Images may still hold aesthetic value even if not verbose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture/) [Picture Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture-isn-2381531/) [Software](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/software/) [Software design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/software-design/) [Thousand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand/) [Thousand words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-words/) [Words Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-hell-3525669/) [Worth Thousand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worth-thousand/) ## Related quotes > [“Now sometimes words can serve me well Sometimes words can go to hell For all that they do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/now-sometimes-words-can-serve-me-well-sometimes-words-can-go-to-hell/) [harry chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [(I love you) are words of hell coming out of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiba/i-love-you-are-words-of-hell-coming-out-of-heaven/) [Hiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiba/) > [A picture might be worth a thousand words but a good sentence is worth a thousand windows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mati-klarwein/a-picture-might-be-worth-a-thousand-words-but-a-good-sentence-is/) [Mati Klarwein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mati-klarwein/) > [If a picture is worth a thousand words, photographers are worth a million.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/if-a-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words-photographers-are-worth-a/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [“A smile is worth a thousand words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-smile-is-worth-a-thousand-words/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A photograph is worth a thousand words, provided it is accompanied by only ten words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/a-photograph-is-worth-a-thousand-words-provided-it-is-accompanied-by/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [A picture may be worth a thousand words, but your smile is what's worth a million more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-picture-may-be-worth-a-thousand-words-but-your-smile-is-what-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One picture is worth a thousand words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/one-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“A demonstration is more than worth a thousand words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/a-demonstration-is-more-than-worth-a-thousand-words/) [Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/) > [“A picture is worth a thousand words…and a video is worth a million pictures…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankala-subbarao/a-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words-and-a-video-is-worth-a-million/) [Ankala Subbarao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankala-subbarao/) > [One touch is worth ten thousand words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-h-bloomfield/one-touch-is-worth-ten-thousand-words/) [Harold H. Bloomfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-h-bloomfield/) > [A hug is worth a thousand words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-hug-is-worth-a-thousand-words/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [There's that statement, "A picture is worth a thousand words" - well, I think flying around in Google Earth is worth a million words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-moore/there-s-that-statement-a-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words-well-i/) [Rebecca Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-moore/) > [A picture of you is worth more than a thousand words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/a-picture-of-you-is-worth-more-than-a-thousand-words/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [If a picture is worth a thousand words, in business, so is a number.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lynch/if-a-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words-in-business-so-is-a-number/) [Peter Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lynch/) ## More by Ad Reinhardt > [Only a bad artist thinks he has a good idea. A good artist does not need anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/only-a-bad-artist-thinks-he-has-a-good-idea-a-good-artist-does-not/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [Art is not the spiritual side of business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/art-is-not-the-spiritual-side-of-business/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [There is a black which is old and a black which is fresh. Lustrous black and dull black, black in sunlight and black in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/there-is-a-black-which-is-old-and-a-black-which-is-fresh-lustrous/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [It is not right for painters to think that painting is like prostitution, that 'first you do it for love, then you do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/it-is-not-right-for-painters-to-think-that-painting-is-like/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [We all name ourselves. We call ourselves artists. Nobody asks us. Nobody says you are or you aren't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/we-all-name-ourselves-we-call-ourselves-artists-nobody-asks-us-nobody/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [My paintings are the last paintings one can make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/my-paintings-are-the-last-paintings-one-can-make/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [I tried to oppose the academic to the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/i-tried-to-oppose-the-academic-to-the-marketplace/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [The only and one way to say what abstract art or art-as-art is, is to say what it is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/the-only-and-one-way-to-say-what-abstract-art-or-art-as-art-is-is-to/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [Painting cannot be the only activity of a mature artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/painting-cannot-be-the-only-activity-of-a-mature-artist/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [If some student came up and wanted to know where to study painting, you'd want to suggest someplace, but there's no place. I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/if-some-student-came-up-and-wanted-to-know-where-to-study-painting/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [An artist who dedicates his life to art, burdens his art with his life, and his life with his art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/an-artist-who-dedicates-his-life-to-art-burdens-his-art-with-his-life/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [I want to emphasize the idea of black as intellectuality and conventionality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/i-want-to-emphasize-the-idea-of-black-as-intellectuality-and/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [Art is too serious to be taken seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/art-is-too-serious-to-be-taken-seriously/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [The artist should once and forever emancipate himself from the bondage of appearance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/the-artist-should-once-and-forever-emancipate-himself-from-the/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [The job at Brooklyn is interesting because Brooklyn reflects what happened to university art departments everywhere. It might be the worst department now, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/the-job-at-brooklyn-is-interesting-because-brooklyn-reflects-what/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) [Explore all 27 Ad Reinhardt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) ## More Design quotes > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Plenty of white space and generous line spacing,and don't make the type size too miserly. Then you will be assured of a product fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-bodoni/plenty-of-white-space-and-generous-line-spacing-and-don-t-make-the/) [Giambattista Bodoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giambattista-bodoni/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [The market may never coalesce around one basic design, or even around two or three dominant devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-market-may-never-coalesce-around-one-basic-design-or-even-around/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) [Jen-Hsun Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hsun-huang/) > [Design is not making beauty, beauty emerges from selection, affinities, integration, love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kahn/design-is-not-making-beauty-beauty-emerges-from-selection-affinities/) [Louis Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kahn/) > [The beauty of New York is unintentional; it arose independent of human design, like a stalagmite cavern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-beauty-of-new-york-is-unintentional-it-arose-independent-of-human/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [I design some of my own clothes now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiernan-shipka/i-design-some-of-my-own-clothes-now/) [Kiernan Shipka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiernan-shipka/) > [Programmers are always surrounded by complexity; we cannot avoid it… If our basic tool, the language in which we design and code our programs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/programmers-are-always-surrounded-by-complexity-we-cannot-avoid-it-if/) [Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/) > [Design is a very personal thing. It's like art. Your personal choice plays a big role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gauri-khan/design-is-a-very-personal-thing-it-s-like-art-your-personal-choice/) [Gauri Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gauri-khan/) > [“Designing posters, for me, is not only a commercial pursuit but also a philosophical endeavor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fang-chen/designing-posters-for-me-is-not-only-a-commercial-pursuit-but-also-a/) [Fang Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fang-chen/) > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [Users are not designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-nielsen/users-are-not-designers/) [Jakob Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-nielsen/) > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) [Browse all 5,563 Design quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As for a picture, if it isn't worth a thousand words, the hell with it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ad Reinhardt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/as-for-a-picture-if-it-isn-t-worth-a-thousand-words-the-hell-with-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Design" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/as-for-a-picture-if-it-isn-t-worth-a-thousand-words-the-hell-with-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/ad-reinhardt-22386_design_as-for-a-picture-if-it-isn-t-worth-a-tho_569644.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/ad-reinhardt-22386_design_as-for-a-picture-if-it-isn-t-worth-a-tho_569644.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/ad-reinhardt-22386_design_as-for-a-picture-if-it-isn-t-worth-a-tho_569644.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As for a picture, if it isn't worth a thousand words, the hell with it.” — Ad Reinhardt", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ad Reinhardt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As for a picture, if it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/as-for-a-picture-if-it-isn-t-worth-a-thousand-words-the-hell-with-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/as-for-a-picture-if-it-isn-t-worth-a-thousand-words-the-hell-with-it/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```