--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I remembered that Johnson had declared…" description: "\"“I remembered that Johnson had declared portrait painting to be an improper employment for a woman. “Public practice of any art and staring in men’s fa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/alan-bradley-1571_dr-johnson_i-remembered-that-johnson-had-declared-p_1593243.jpg" --- # I remembered that Johnson had declared portrait painting… ![“I remembered that Johnson had declared portrait painting to be an improper employment for a woman. “Public practice of any art and staring in men’s faces is very indelicate in a female,” he had said. Well I’d seen Dr. Johnson’s face in the book’s frontispiece and I couldn’t imagine anyone male or…” quote by Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/alan-bradley-1571_dr-johnson_i-remembered-that-johnson-had-declared-p_1593243.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/alan-bradley-1571_dr-johnson_i-remembered-that-johnson-had-declared-p_1593243.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/alan-bradley-1571_dr-johnson_i-remembered-that-johnson-had-declared-p_1593243.jpg) > ““I remembered that Johnson had declared portrait painting to be an improper employment for a woman. “Public practice of any art and staring in men’s faces is very indelicate in a female,” he had said. Well I’d seen Dr. Johnson’s face in the book’s frontispiece and I couldn’t imagine anyone male or female wanting to stare into it for any length of time —the man was an absolute toad.”” [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societal expectations restrict women's roles in art, and absurd judgments can dehumanize individuals, reducing them to caricatures. **In simple terms:** Women face unfair artistic limits; absurd remarks dehumanize. Key Takeaway Challenge gender bias and absurd stereotypes. Themes gender art bias absurdity stereotype Mood critical insightful Type social analytical When to use this quote - art education - gender equity initiatives - media criticism Key Concepts feminist critique social commentary character analysis Questions to Reflect On - What biases affect artistic fields today? - How can we celebrate diverse creators? A Different Perspective Overgeneralizations ignore individual talent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Declared Portrait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/declared-portrait-6042777/) [Dr johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dr-johnson/) [Flavia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flavia/) [Insulting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insulting/) [Johnson Face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/johnson-face-6042776/) [Lol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lol/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Portrait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portrait/) [Portrait Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portrait-painting-1324363/) ## Related quotes > [A portrait is a painting with something wrong with the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-singer-sargent/a-portrait-is-a-painting-with-something-wrong-with-the-mouth/) [John Singer Sargent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-singer-sargent/) > [There are only two styles of portrait painting; the serious and the smirk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-are-only-two-styles-of-portrait-painting-the-serious-and-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [The tradition of portrait painting, to embellish or idealize the subject, remains the aim of everyday and of commercial photography, but it has had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-tradition-of-portrait-painting-to-embellish-or-idealize-the/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The explanation of the propensity of the English people to portrait painting is to be found in their relish for a Fact. Let a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-haydon/the-explanation-of-the-propensity-of-the-english-people-to-portrait/) [Benjamin Haydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-haydon/) > [It is for the artist... in portrait painting to put on canvas something more than the face the model wears for that one day;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-whistler/it-is-for-the-artist-in-portrait-painting-to-put-on-canvas-something/) [James Whistler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-whistler/) > [“I'll ring for Mrs. Mullet," Feely said, reaching for a velvet pull that hung near the mantelpiece, and which probably hadn't been used since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/i-ll-ring-for-mrs-mullet-feely-said-reaching-for-a-velvet-pull-that/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“It was quite wrong of me Had I heard what I thought I’d heard or were my ears playing hob with me It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/it-was-quite-wrong-of-me-had-i-heard-what-i-thought-i-d-heard-or-were/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“It’s not polite to ask ” he said with a slight smile. “One must never ask a policeman his secrets.” “Why not ” “For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/it-s-not-polite-to-ask-he-said-with-a-slight-smile-one-must-never-ask/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“I remembered Father remarking once that if rudeness was not attributable to ignorance it could be taken as a sure sign that one was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/i-remembered-father-remarking-once-that-if-rudeness-was-not/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“I waved my hand like a frantic dust mop fingers spread ludicrously wide apart as if to say “What jolly fun ” What I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/i-waved-my-hand-like-a-frantic-dust-mop-fingers-spread-ludicrously/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“Not to be too dramatic about it, that night I slept the sleep of the damned. I dreamt of turrets and craggy ledges where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/not-to-be-too-dramatic-about-it-that-night-i-slept-the-sleep-of-the/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“I had to make water ” I said. It was the classic female excuse and no male in recorded history had ever questioned it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/i-had-to-make-water-i-said-it-was-the-classic-female-excuse-and-no/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“Oh, there you are, you odious little prawn...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/oh-there-you-are-you-odious-little-prawn/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“I have no fear of the dead. Indeed in my own limited experience I have found them to produce in me a feeling that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/i-have-no-fear-of-the-dead-indeed-in-my-own-limited-experience-i-have/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“As Daffy once said, the best place to hide a glum countenance is onstage at the opera.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/as-daffy-once-said-the-best-place-to-hide-a-glum-countenance-is/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) ## More by Alan Bradley > [“…it is a well-known fact that more than two men shut up together in an enclosed space for more than an hour constitute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/it-is-a-well-known-fact-that-more-than-two-men-shut-up-together-in-an/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“You see, Flavia, silence is sometimes the most costly of commodities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/you-see-flavia-silence-is-sometimes-the-most-costly-of-commodities/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“If there is a thing I truly despise, it is being addressed as "dearie." 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I was like a hamster that had climbed to the top of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/there-was-no-way-out-not-at-least-in-this-direction-i-was-like-a/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [I am often thought of as being remarkably bright, and yet my brains, more often than not, are busily devising new and interesting ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/i-am-often-thought-of-as-being-remarkably-bright-and-yet-my-brains/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“To my mind, if Nature had wanted us to have bright red fingertips, She would have caused us to be born with our blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/to-my-mind-if-nature-had-wanted-us-to-have-bright-red-fingertips-she/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“Had I been too cruel to that horror, Miss Mountjoy? Too vindictive? Wasn't she, after all, just a harmless and lonely old spinster? Would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/had-i-been-too-cruel-to-that-horror-miss-mountjoy-too-vindictive-wasn/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“This was an interesting thought; it had never occurred to me that one's name could be a compass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/this-was-an-interesting-thought-it-had-never-occurred-to-me-that-one/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“While you've been gadding about the countryside, we've held a meeting, and we've all of us decided that you must go.' In short, we've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/while-you-ve-been-gadding-about-the-countryside-we-ve-held-a-meeting/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“For all practical purposes, Feely's enthusiasms stopped where her skin ended.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/for-all-practical-purposes-feely-s-enthusiasms-stopped-where-her-skin/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“Then I remembered that silence can sometimes do more damage than words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/then-i-remembered-that-silence-can-sometimes-do-more-damage-than-words/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) [Explore all 226 Alan Bradley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) ## More Dr johnson quotes > [“Listen, I wanted to say, I don't need your judgment, okay? I have enough to deal with without you contributing, so can we just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-verdi/listen-i-wanted-to-say-i-don-t-need-your-judgment-okay-i-have-enough/) [Jessica Verdi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-verdi/) > [“How are you coming with your home library? Do you need some good ammunition on why it's so important to read? The last time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/how-are-you-coming-with-your-home-library-do-you-need-some-good/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [“I think I can understand that feeling about a housewife’s work being like that of Sisyphus (who was the stone rolling gentleman). But it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/i-think-i-can-understand-that-feeling-about-a-housewife-s-work-being/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [I'm an advocate of the great Dr. Johnson, the English man of letters who said that patriotism was the last refuge of the scoundrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-galloway/i-m-an-advocate-of-the-great-dr-johnson-the-english-man-of-letters/) [George Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-galloway/) > [“I was strong in English, and thankful for it. I knew the great Dr. Johnson from his friend Mr. Boswell. There is a friend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-llewellyn/i-was-strong-in-english-and-thankful-for-it-i-knew-the-great-dr/) [Richard Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-llewellyn/) > [“It is generally understood that a modern-day book may honorably be based upon an older one, especially since, as Dr. Johnson observed, no man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/it-is-generally-understood-that-a-modern-day-book-may-honorably-be/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Boswell: But, Sir is it not somewhat singular that you should happen to have Cocker's Arithmetic about you on your journey? Dr. Johnson: Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/boswell-but-sir-is-it-not-somewhat-singular-that-you-should-happen-to/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [Patriotism, n. Combustible rubbish ready to the torch of any one ambitious to illuminate his name. 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