--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not right for painters to think…" description: "\"It is not right for painters to think that painting is like prostitution, that 'first you do it for love, then you do it for others, and finally you do..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/ad-reinhardt-22386_artist_it-is-not-right-for-painters-to-think-th_281105.png" --- # It is not right for painters to think that painting is… ![“It is not right for painters to think that painting is like prostitution, that 'first you do it for love, then you do it for others, and finally you do it for money.” quote by Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/ad-reinhardt-22386_artist_it-is-not-right-for-painters-to-think-th_281105.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/ad-reinhardt-22386_artist_it-is-not-right-for-painters-to-think-th_281105.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/ad-reinhardt-22386_artist_it-is-not-right-for-painters-to-think-th_281105.png) > “It is not right for painters to think that painting is like prostitution, that 'first you do it for love, then you do it for others, and finally you do it for money.” [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. Art should be driven by love, not commercial gain or external validation. **In simple terms:** Create for love, not money. Key Takeaway Prioritize passion over profit. Themes art integrity motivation Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery shows - commissioned work - personal projects - career decisions Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy artist's purpose Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance artistic integrity with financial needs? - What role does audience expectation play? A Different Perspective Commercial pressures can still dominate the art market. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Profession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profession/) [Prostitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prostitution/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/writing-is-like-prostitution-first-you-do-it-for-love-and-then-for-a/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [“Writing is a little bit like prostitution. First you do it for love. Then you do it for a few friends. Then you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/writing-is-a-little-bit-like-prostitution-first-you-do-it-for-love/) [Molière](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Academia is to knowledge what prostitution is to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/academia-is-to-knowledge-what-prostitution-is-to-love/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Academia is to knowledge what prostitution is to love; close enough on the surface but, to the nonsucker, not exactly the same thing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/academia-is-to-knowledge-what-prostitution-is-to-love-close-enough-on/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Bookselling is like prostitution, you sell your wares, you close your eyes, and you never fall in love with the clients. You also keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-bateman/bookselling-is-like-prostitution-you-sell-your-wares-you-close-your/) [Colin Bateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-bateman/) > [Oratory is just like prostitution: you must have little tricks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-emanuele-orlando/oratory-is-just-like-prostitution-you-must-have-little-tricks/) Vittorio Emanuele Orlando > [Kids draw masterpieces - they're the best painters ever. I think the same with music. They could totally write amazing music if they just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjork/kids-draw-masterpieces-they-re-the-best-painters-ever-i-think-the/) [Bjork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjork/) > [Many of us knuckle-dragging brush-painters think that 'behind the times' is part of our job description. Why deny ourselves the authentic journey of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/many-of-us-knuckle-dragging-brush-painters-think-that-behind-the/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [Academia is to knowledge what prostitution is to love; close enough on the surface but, to the non-sucker, not exactly the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/academia-is-to-knowledge-what-prostitution-is-to-love-close-enough-on-2/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [I like prostitution. My heart has never failed to pound at the sight of one of those provocatively dressed women walking in the rain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/i-like-prostitution-my-heart-has-never-failed-to-pound-at-the-sight/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [To talk about something like prostitution, the other person then becomes the wild card that will have a response, and it may not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-weigert/to-talk-about-something-like-prostitution-the-other-person-then/) [Robin Weigert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-weigert/) > [To labor in the arts for any reason other than love is prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/to-labor-in-the-arts-for-any-reason-other-than-love-is-prostitution/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The fight against syphilis demands a fight against prostitution, against prejudices, old habits, against previous conceptions, general views among them not least the false…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-fight-against-syphilis-demands-a-fight-against-prostitution/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [Well this is aptly called a junket, for both of us. I have never been to a house of prostitution, but I understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-hoffman/well-this-is-aptly-called-a-junket-for-both-of-us-i-have-never-been/) [Dustin Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-hoffman/) > [Most celebrated men live in a condition of prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/most-celebrated-men-live-in-a-condition-of-prostitution/) [Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [As for a picture, if it isn't worth a thousand words, the hell with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/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/) > [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 Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [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/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not right for painters to think that painting is like prostitution, that 'first you do it for love, then you do it for others, and finally you do it for money.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ad Reinhardt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/it-is-not-right-for-painters-to-think-that-painting-is-like/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/it-is-not-right-for-painters-to-think-that-painting-is-like/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/ad-reinhardt-22386_artist_it-is-not-right-for-painters-to-think-th_281105.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/ad-reinhardt-22386_artist_it-is-not-right-for-painters-to-think-th_281105.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e6/ad-reinhardt-22386_artist_it-is-not-right-for-painters-to-think-th_281105.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is not right for painters to think that painting is like prostitution, that 'first you do it for love…” — 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": "It is not right for painters...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/it-is-not-right-for-painters-to-think-that-painting-is-like/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/it-is-not-right-for-painters-to-think-that-painting-is-like/#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 } } ] } ```