--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A work of art is static; and its value…" description: "\"A work of art is static; and its value and its weakness lie in being so: but the tuft of grass and the clouds above it belong to our own travelling bro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/157/freya-stark-3403_art_a-work-of-art-is-static-and-its-value-an_2658487.png" --- # A work of art is static; and its value and its weakness… ![“A work of art is static; and its value and its weakness lie in being so: but the tuft of grass and the clouds above it belong to our own travelling brotherhood.” quote by Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/157/freya-stark-3403_art_a-work-of-art-is-static-and-its-value-an_2658487.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/157/freya-stark-3403_art_a-work-of-art-is-static-and-its-value-an_2658487.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/157/freya-stark-3403_art_a-work-of-art-is-static-and-its-value-an_2658487.png) > “A work of art is static; and its value and its weakness lie in being so: but the tuft of grass and the clouds above it belong to our own travelling brotherhood.” [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) ## 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 static nature contrasts with the ever‑changing natural world that belongs to humanity. **In simple terms:** Art is fixed; nature is fluid and shared. Key Takeaway Balance appreciation of art with immersion in nature. Themes art nature humanity Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical descriptive When to use this quote - museum visits - hiking trips - creative writing Key Concepts aesthetics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does nature inspire your creative work? - In what ways can art capture movement? A Different Perspective Art can feel detached from lived experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Art Static](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-static-2407709/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Brotherhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brotherhood/) [Clouds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds/) [Clouds Belong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds-belong-2407710/) [Evanescence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evanescence/) [Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grass/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Static](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/static/) [Travelling Brotherhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travelling-brotherhood-2407711/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/) [Works of art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-of-art/) ## Related quotes > [Why must art be static? You look at an abstraction, sculptured or painted, an entirely exciting arrangement of planes, spheres, nuclei, entirely without meaning.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/why-must-art-be-static-you-look-at-an-abstraction-sculptured-or/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [The slightest living thing answers a deeper need than all the works of man because it is transitory. It has an evanescence of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-slightest-living-thing-answers-a-deeper-need-than-all-the-works/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [“Art is an evolutionary act. The shape of art and its role in society is constantly changing. At no point is art static. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-salvatore-harmon/art-is-an-evolutionary-act-the-shape-of-art-and-its-role-in-society/) [Raymond Salvatore Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-salvatore-harmon/) > [“Etchings endure, But not in Sand Meanings Collide To Unresolved Fragments Codes fizzle to Static They are not lost But Unheard Never lost Fading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/etchings-endure-but-not-in-sand-meanings-collide-to-unresolved/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [If you end your story, it's a static work of art, a finite circle. But if you don't, it belongs to anyone's imagination. 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Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Only imagination that towers can reproduce evanescence and render rigidity flexible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/only-imagination-that-towers-can-reproduce-evanescence-and-render/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [“When I usually outshine the light, I look for evanescence. The ending to my resplendence is much more divine, when it's singing a sweet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-suggs/when-i-usually-outshine-the-light-i-look-for-evanescence-the-ending/) [Lionel Suggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-suggs/) > [“It didn’t matter what he’d said or done in life, in death he was innocent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/callie-hunter/it-didn-t-matter-what-he-d-said-or-done-in-life-in-death-he-was/) [Callie Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/callie-hunter/) ## More by Freya Stark > [I do think we should be provided with a new body about the age of thirty or so when we have learnt to attend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/i-do-think-we-should-be-provided-with-a-new-body-about-the-age-of/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The world has become too full of many things, an over furnished room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-world-has-become-too-full-of-many-things-an-over-furnished-room/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [From love one can only escape at the price of life itself; and no lessening of sorrow is worth exile from that stream of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/from-love-one-can-only-escape-at-the-price-of-life-itself-and-no/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The unexpectedness of life, waiting round every corner, catches even wise women unawares (...) To avoid corners altogether is, after all, to refuse to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-unexpectedness-of-life-waiting-round-every-corner-catches-even/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Words are the only arteries of thought our poor human body possesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/words-are-the-only-arteries-of-thought-our-poor-human-body-possesses/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The past is our treasure. Its works, whether we know them or not, flourish in our lives with whatever strength they had. From it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-past-is-our-treasure-its-works-whether-we-know-them-or-not/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [On the other hand, there is a certain advantage in traveling with someone who has a reputation for shooting rather than being shot: as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/on-the-other-hand-there-is-a-certain-advantage-in-traveling-with/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [If one were given a single window from which to look upon the changing Eastern world, it should face, I think, the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/if-one-were-given-a-single-window-from-which-to-look-upon-the/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [advertisement ... has brought our disregard for truth into the open without even a figleaf to cover it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/advertisement-has-brought-our-disregard-for-truth-into-the-open/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Who dares to be intellectual in the presence of death?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/who-dares-to-be-intellectual-in-the-presence-of-death/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The Persian's mind, like his illuminated manuscripts, does not deal in perspective: two thousand years, if he happens to know anything about them, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-persian-s-mind-like-his-illuminated-manuscripts-does-not-deal-in/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Curiosity is the one thing invincible in Nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/curiosity-is-the-one-thing-invincible-in-nature/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [There are, I sometimes think, only two sorts of people in this world - the settled and the nomad - and there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/there-are-i-sometimes-think-only-two-sorts-of-people-in-this-world/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Nearly all trouble comes from mis-timing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/nearly-all-trouble-comes-from-mis-timing/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [“I have no reason to go, except that I have never been, and knowledge is better than ignorance. What better reason could there be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/i-have-no-reason-to-go-except-that-i-have-never-been-and-knowledge-is/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) [Explore all 131 Freya Stark quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) ## 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. 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. 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 is static; and its value and its weakness lie in being so: but the tuft of grass and the clouds above it belong to our own travelling brotherhood.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Freya Stark" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/a-work-of-art-is-static-and-its-value-and-its-weakness-lie-in-being/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/a-work-of-art-is-static-and-its-value-and-its-weakness-lie-in-being/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/157/freya-stark-3403_art_a-work-of-art-is-static-and-its-value-an_2658487.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/157/freya-stark-3403_art_a-work-of-art-is-static-and-its-value-an_2658487.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/157/freya-stark-3403_art_a-work-of-art-is-static-and-its-value-an_2658487.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A work of art is static; and its value and its weakness lie in being so: but the tuft of grass and the…” — Freya Stark", "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": "Freya Stark", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A work of art is static;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/a-work-of-art-is-static-and-its-value-and-its-weakness-lie-in-being/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/a-work-of-art-is-static-and-its-value-and-its-weakness-lie-in-being/#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 } } ] } ```