--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A work of art rests its merits in…" description: "\"A work of art rests its merits in traditional qualities. It may constitute a remarkable feat in craftsmanship; it may be a searching study of psycholog..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/ben-shahn-10836_art_a-work-of-art-rests-its-merits-in-tradit_2361490.jpg" --- # A work of art rests its merits in traditional qualities… ![“A work of art rests its merits in traditional qualities. It may constitute a remarkable feat in craftsmanship; it may be a searching study of psychological states; it may be a nostalgic glance backward; it may be any one of an infinite number of concepts, none of which may have any possible…” quote by Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/ben-shahn-10836_art_a-work-of-art-rests-its-merits-in-tradit_2361490.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/ben-shahn-10836_art_a-work-of-art-rests-its-merits-in-tradit_2361490.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/ben-shahn-10836_art_a-work-of-art-rests-its-merits-in-tradit_2361490.jpg) > “A work of art rests its merits in traditional qualities. It may constitute a remarkable feat in craftsmanship; it may be a searching study of psychological states; it may be a nostalgic glance backward; it may be any one of an infinite number of concepts, none of which may have any possible bearing upon its degree of newness.” [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art's value lies in its traditional qualities and varied concepts, not necessarily in novelty. **In simple terms:** Art is judged by its qualities, not its newness. Key Takeaway Focus on depth over novelty. Themes art craftsmanship psychology nostalgia concepts Mood contemplative analytical Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - gallery c - art criticism - museum curation - personal reflection Key Concepts Aesthetic theory creative evaluation Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess art beyond its freshness? - What traditional qualities matter most to you? A Different Perspective Novelty alone does not guarantee artistic merit. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Concepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concepts/) [Craftsmanship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/craftsmanship/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Feats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feats/) [Glances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glances/) [Infinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Merit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merit/) [Merits Traditional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merits-traditional-5783469/) [Newness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newness/) [Nostalgic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgic/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Psychological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychological/) [Qualities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualities/) [Qualities Constitute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualities-constitute-4255626/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Remarkable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remarkable/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Traditional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traditional/) [Traditional Qualities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traditional-qualities-5783468/) [Works of art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-of-art/) ## Related quotes > [“And if one loves me for my judgement, memory, he does not love me , for I can lose these qualities without losing myself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/and-if-one-loves-me-for-my-judgement-memory-he-does-not-love-me-for-i/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Of all the human values, three are most important. 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It's hard to know what to expect of the man if you've only seen his films.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/stanley-kubrick-i-had-been-told-hates-interviews-it-s-hard-to-know/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/skill-without-imagination-is-craftsmanship-and-gives-us-many-useful/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I am very much interested in the so-called useless object. 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A professional is someone whose wife works to enable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/an-amateur-is-someone-who-supports-himself-with-outside-jobs-which/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [Art almost always has its ingredient of impudence, its flouting of established authority, so that it may substitute its own authority and its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/art-almost-always-has-its-ingredient-of-impudence-its-flouting-of/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [The artist is likely to be looked upon with some uneasiness by the more conservative members of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/the-artist-is-likely-to-be-looked-upon-with-some-uneasiness-by-the/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [Only an individual can imagine, invent, or create. The whole audience of art is an audience of individuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/only-an-individual-can-imagine-invent-or-create-the-whole-audience-of/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [To abstract is to draw out the essence of a matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/to-abstract-is-to-draw-out-the-essence-of-a-matter/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [The natural reaction of the artist will be strongly towards bringing man back into focus as the center of importance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/the-natural-reaction-of-the-artist-will-be-strongly-towards-bringing/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [Each artist comes to the painting or sculpture because there he can be told that he, the individual, transcends all classes and flouts all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/each-artist-comes-to-the-painting-or-sculpture-because-there-he-can/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [All art is based on non-conformity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/all-art-is-based-on-non-conformity/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [I was primarily interested in people, and people in action, so that I did nothing photographically in the sense of doing buildings for their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/i-was-primarily-interested-in-people-and-people-in-action-so-that-i/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [I remember traveling around in Arkansas with Senator Robinson, and I told him what this little trick was. He felt very much part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/i-remember-traveling-around-in-arkansas-with-senator-robinson-and-i/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [I became interested in photography when I found my own sketching was inadequate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/i-became-interested-in-photography-when-i-found-my-own-sketching-was/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [We tried to present the ordinary in an extraordinary manner. But that's the paradox because the only thing extraordinary about it was that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/we-tried-to-present-the-ordinary-in-an-extraordinary-manner-but-that/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) > [Being an artist is not only what you do, but how you live your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shahn/being-an-artist-is-not-only-what-you-do-but-how-you-live-your-life/) [Ben Shahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) [Explore all 63 Ben Shahn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shahn/) ## More Art quotes > [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/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [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/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [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/) > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. 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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 only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [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/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A work of art rests its merits in traditional qualities. 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