Art Quote by Claire Messud

I guess I am ruthless too because that's what makes a great artist. But I also respect people, I don't go around stepping on…

— Julian Schnabel

An artist must be ruthlessly selfish.

— W. Eugene Smith

“Any artist who fails to engage with society and the vulnerability of the individual in a cruel existence should not style him-or herself an…

— Lena Andersson

There is nothing fiercer than a failed artist. The energy remains, but, having no outlet, it implodes in a great black fart of rage…

— Erica Jong

Can a great artist be mean-spirited, grasping, harsh to his family, violent in his emotions, vindictive in his hatreds, an all-purpose scoundrel? If our…

— Fred Kaplan

I think an artist, in my definition of that word, would not be someone who takes sides with the emperor against his powerless subjects.…

— Chinua Achebe

Great artistic talent in any direction... is hardly inherent to the man. It comes and goes; it is often possessed only for a short…

— Hilaire Belloc

Being an artist and a human in this world always means confronting people who make you feel like you have to act according to…

— Alice Merton

An artist is like a woman who can do nothing but love, and who succumbs to every stray male jackass.

— Heinrich Böll

An artist is above all a human being, profoundly human to the core. If the artist can't feel everything that humanity feels, if the…

— Diego Rivera

I always found the concept of a tortured artist distasteful.

— Jeff Tweedy

I dare affirm that any artist... who has nothing singular, eccentric, or at least reputed to be so, in his person, will never become…

— Michelangelo