--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No artist knows in his own lifetime…" description: "\"No artist knows in his own lifetime whether what he does will be the slightest good, because it takes at least seventy-five to a hundred years before t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/938/francis-bacon-297_art_no-artist-knows-in-his-own-lifetime-whet_1813297.jpg" --- # No artist knows in his own lifetime whether what he does… ![“No artist knows in his own lifetime whether what he does will be the slightest good, because it takes at least seventy-five to a hundred years before the thing begins to sort itself out.” quote by Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/938/francis-bacon-297_art_no-artist-knows-in-his-own-lifetime-whet_1813297.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/938/francis-bacon-297_art_no-artist-knows-in-his-own-lifetime-whet_1813297.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/938/francis-bacon-297_art_no-artist-knows-in-his-own-lifetime-whet_1813297.jpg) > “No artist knows in his own lifetime whether what he does will be the slightest good, because it takes at least seventy-five to a hundred years before the thing begins to sort itself out.” [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists cannot judge the lasting value of their work within their lifetime; time reveals its true merit. **In simple terms:** Art’s worth is often only seen later. Key Takeaway Create without fearing immediate judgment. Themes art legacy uncertainty Mood thoughtful patient Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - art exhibitions - long‑term projects - historical analysis Key Concepts temporal perspective creative risk Questions to Reflect On - What would you create if you weren’t judged now? - How does time change artistic value? A Different Perspective Immediate reception may mislead. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-knows-506348/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Lifetime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifetime/) [Seventies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seventies/) [Seventy Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seventy-years/) [Slightest Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slightest-good-2133082/) [Takes Seventy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/takes-seventy-1272738/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [I've been reading reviews of my stories for twenty-five years, and can't remember a single useful point in any of them, or the slightest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/i-ve-been-reading-reviews-of-my-stories-for-twenty-five-years-and-can/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [The entire history of human desire takes about seventy minutes to tell. 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It ought to have a gray outlook, but it hasn't, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/i-am-seventy-years-old-a-gray-age-weighted-with-uncompromising/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [Seventy years of ad-lib material, and I am speechless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/seventy-years-of-ad-lib-material-and-i-am-speechless/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [After seventy years of expository preaching, I have yet to touch the hem of His garment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-a-criswell/after-seventy-years-of-expository-preaching-i-have-yet-to-touch-the/) [W. A. Criswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-a-criswell/) > [In seventy years, Russia’s Communists had not succeeded in dealing markets such a telling blow as did its deadbeat capitalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-lowenstein/in-seventy-years-russia-s-communists-had-not-succeeded-in-dealing/) [Roger Lowenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-lowenstein/) ## More by Francis Bacon > [Princes are like heavenly bodies, which cause good or evil times, and which have much veneration, but no rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/princes-are-like-heavenly-bodies-which-cause-good-or-evil-times-and/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The best preservative to keep the mind in health is the faithful admonition of a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-best-preservative-to-keep-the-mind-in-health-is-the-faithful/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Since custom is the principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means endeavor to obtain good customs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/since-custom-is-the-principal-magistrate-of-man-s-life-let-men-by-all/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Painting today is pure intuition and luck and taking advantage of what happens when you splash the stuff down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/painting-today-is-pure-intuition-and-luck-and-taking-advantage-of/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I usually accept bribes from both sides so that tainted money can never influence my decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-usually-accept-bribes-from-both-sides-so-that-tainted-money-can/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Much bending breaks the bow; much unbending the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/much-bending-breaks-the-bow-much-unbending-the-mind/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When Christ came into the world, peace was sung; and when He went out of the world, peace was bequeathed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-christ-came-into-the-world-peace-was-sung-and-when-he-went-out/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [...neither is it possible to discover the more remote and deeper parts of any science, if you stand but upon the level of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/neither-is-it-possible-to-discover-the-more-remote-and-deeper-parts/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The divisions of science are not like different lines that meet in one angle, but rather like the branches of trees that join in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-divisions-of-science-are-not-like-different-lines-that-meet-in/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The human understanding, when any preposition has been once laid down... forces everything else to add fresh support and confirmation; and although more cogent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-human-understanding-when-any-preposition-has-been-once-laid-down/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I should have been, I don't know, a con-man, a robber or a prostitute. But it was vanity that made me choose painting, vanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-should-have-been-i-don-t-know-a-con-man-a-robber-or-a-prostitute/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Wounds cannot be cured without searching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/wounds-cannot-be-cured-without-searching/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The French are wiser than they seem, and the Spaniards seem wiser than they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-french-are-wiser-than-they-seem-and-the-spaniards-seem-wiser-than/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When a man laughs at his troubles he loses a great many friends. They never forgive the loss of their prerogative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-a-man-laughs-at-his-troubles-he-loses-a-great-many-friends-they/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Believing that I was born for the service of mankind, and regarding the care of the commonwealth as a kind of common property which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/believing-that-i-was-born-for-the-service-of-mankind-and-regarding/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) [Explore all 711 Francis Bacon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## 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. 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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. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. 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