--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art derives a considerable part of its…" description: "\"Art derives a considerable part of its beneficial exercise from flying in the face of presumptions.\" — Henry James" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/henry-james-417_art_art-derives-a-considerable-part-of-its-b_3123500.png" --- # Art derives a considerable part of its beneficial exercise… ![“Art derives a considerable part of its beneficial exercise from flying in the face of presumptions.” quote by Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/henry-james-417_art_art-derives-a-considerable-part-of-its-b_3123500.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/henry-james-417_art_art-derives-a-considerable-part-of-its-b_3123500.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/henry-james-417_art_art-derives-a-considerable-part-of-its-b_3123500.png) > “Art derives a considerable part of its beneficial exercise from flying in the face of presumptions.” [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art thrives when it challenges accepted beliefs, prompting fresh perspectives and growth. **In simple terms:** Art grows by questioning assumptions. Key Takeaway Embrace bold, unconventional ideas. Themes creativity challenge growth Mood provocative introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - art criticism - innovation workshops - educational curricula - personal reflection Key Concepts Aesthetic theory critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can you safely push boundaries? - What assumptions limit your work? A Different Perspective May alienate traditional audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Flying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flying/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Presumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presumption/) ## Related quotes > [Principle II: The presumptions of the law are creative presumptions:;: they are aimed at conditions to be brought about, and only for that reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-hocking/principle-ii-the-presumptions-of-the-law-are-creative-presumptions/) [William Ernest Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-hocking/) > [In moments of spiritual crisis we naturally fall back upon what worked for us, or seemed to work, heretofore. Sometimes this shows up through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hollis/in-moments-of-spiritual-crisis-we-naturally-fall-back-upon-what/) [James Hollis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hollis/) > [Most of my presumptions about a production are usually wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/most-of-my-presumptions-about-a-production-are-usually-wrong/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [Art is not concerned with the meditation about what is and how it came to be. That is a task for knowledge. Knowledge is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/art-is-not-concerned-with-the-meditation-about-what-is-and-how-it/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [I always felt that my work hadn't much to do with art; my admirations for other art had very little room to show themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/i-always-felt-that-my-work-hadn-t-much-to-do-with-art-my-admirations/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [Your presumptions keep you away from the truth, you must stop judging before the dust has settled, to see clearly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-presumptions-keep-you-away-from-the-truth-you-must-stop-judging/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Presumptions macerate mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/presumptions-macerate-mind/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [If we pretend to respect the artist at all we must allow him his freedom of choice , in the face, in particular cases,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/if-we-pretend-to-respect-the-artist-at-all-we-must-allow-him-his/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“It is bad enough to be unconverted and going to hell. It is even worse to say, “I know it and will not cry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/it-is-bad-enough-to-be-unconverted-and-going-to-hell-it-is-even-worse/) [J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/) > [The plants look up to heaven, from whence they have their nourishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-plants-look-up-to-heaven-from-whence-they-have-their-nourishment/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Latent genius is but a presumption. Everything that can be, is bound to come into being, and what never comes into being is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/latent-genius-is-but-a-presumption-everything-that-can-be-is-bound-to/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [Presumption must be quenched even more than a fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/presumption-must-be-quenched-even-more-than-a-fire/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) > [Who does not know that kings and rulers sprang from men who were ignorant of God, who assumed because of blind greed and intolerable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-vii/who-does-not-know-that-kings-and-rulers-sprang-from-men-who-were/) [Pope Gregory VII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-vii/) ## More by Henry James > [Though there are some disagreeable things in Venice there is nothing so disagreeable as the visitors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/though-there-are-some-disagreeable-things-in-venice-there-is-nothing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“In literature we move through a blest world in which we know nothing except by style, but in which everything is saved by it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/in-literature-we-move-through-a-blest-world-in-which-we-know-nothing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“I shall stay here as long as I may, I don't want to think — I needn't think. I don't care for anything but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-shall-stay-here-as-long-as-i-may-i-don-t-want-to-think-i-needn-t/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“...It often seemed to her that she thought too much about herself, you could have made her blush any day of the year, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-often-seemed-to-her-that-she-thought-too-much-about-herself-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“I reflected acutely that the sense of such differences, such superiorities of quality, always, on the part of the majority—which could include even stupid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-reflected-acutely-that-the-sense-of-such-differences-such/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“She had had a real fright but had fallen back to earth. The odd thing was that in her fall her fear too had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-had-had-a-real-fright-but-had-fallen-back-to-earth-the-odd-thing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [I ought to tell you I'm probably your cousin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-ought-to-tell-you-i-m-probably-your-cousin/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“She had never met a woman who had less of that fault which is the principal obstacle to friendship - the air of reproducing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-had-never-met-a-woman-who-had-less-of-that-fault-which-is-the/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [London is on the whole the most possible form of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/london-is-on-the-whole-the-most-possible-form-of-life/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [If you have work to do, don't wait to feel like it; set to work and you will feel like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/if-you-have-work-to-do-don-t-wait-to-feel-like-it-set-to-work-and-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“She answered that she liked standing up and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-answered-that-she-liked-standing-up-and/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [It is no wonder he wins every game. He has never done a thing in his life exept play games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-is-no-wonder-he-wins-every-game-he-has-never-done-a-thing-in-his/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [Make (the reader) think the evil, make him think it for himself, and you are released from weak specifications. My values are positively all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/make-the-reader-think-the-evil-make-him-think-it-for-himself-and-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“It was the air she wanted and the world she would now exclusively choose; the quiet chambers, nobly overwhelming, rich but slightly veiled, opened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-was-the-air-she-wanted-and-the-world-she-would-now-exclusively/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [The time-honored bread-sauce of the happy ending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-time-honored-bread-sauce-of-the-happy-ending/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) [Explore all 571 Henry James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) ## 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 > [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": "Art derives a considerable part of its beneficial exercise from flying in the face of presumptions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/art-derives-a-considerable-part-of-its-beneficial-exercise-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/art-derives-a-considerable-part-of-its-beneficial-exercise-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/henry-james-417_art_art-derives-a-considerable-part-of-its-b_3123500.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/henry-james-417_art_art-derives-a-considerable-part-of-its-b_3123500.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/henry-james-417_art_art-derives-a-considerable-part-of-its-b_3123500.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art derives a considerable part of its beneficial exercise from flying in the face of presumptions.” — Henry James", "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": "Henry James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art derives a considerable part of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/art-derives-a-considerable-part-of-its-beneficial-exercise-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/art-derives-a-considerable-part-of-its-beneficial-exercise-from/#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 } } ] } ```