--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a man knows nothing but hard times, he…" description: "\"If a man knows nothing but hard times, he will paint them, for he must be true to himself.\" — Horace Pippin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/horace-pippin-52561_being-true_if-a-man-knows-nothing-but-hard-times-he_2217272.jpg" --- # If a man knows nothing but hard times, he will paint them… ![“If a man knows nothing but hard times, he will paint them, for he must be true to himself.” quote by Horace Pippin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/horace-pippin-52561_being-true_if-a-man-knows-nothing-but-hard-times-he_2217272.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/horace-pippin-52561_being-true_if-a-man-knows-nothing-but-hard-times-he_2217272.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/horace-pippin-52561_being-true_if-a-man-knows-nothing-but-hard-times-he_2217272.jpg) > “If a man knows nothing but hard times, he will paint them, for he must be true to himself.” [Horace Pippin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-pippin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hardship shapes artistic expression; authenticity demands confronting personal struggle. **In simple terms:** Hard times inspire honest art. Key Takeaway Embrace difficulty to create truthfully. Themes art authenticity hardship Mood reflective determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - artist reflecting on adversity - gallery exhibition - personal diary Key Concepts self‑reflection creative expression Questions to Reflect On - How does personal hardship influence your creative choices? - What does being true to yourself mean in art? A Different Perspective May overlook the role of external support in coping. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Hard time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-time/) [Hard times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-times/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“My earnest wish is to paint in true colors the goodness of God to me, and the depth of my own ingratitude”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-guyon/my-earnest-wish-is-to-paint-in-true-colors-the-goodness-of-god-to-me/) [Madame Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-guyon/) > [My opinion of art is that a man should have love for it, because my idea is that he paints from his heart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-pippin/my-opinion-of-art-is-that-a-man-should-have-love-for-it-because-my/) [Horace Pippin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-pippin/) > [The war brought out all the art in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-pippin/the-war-brought-out-all-the-art-in-me/) [Horace Pippin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-pippin/) > [Pictures just come to my mind and I tell my heart to go ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-pippin/pictures-just-come-to-my-mind-and-i-tell-my-heart-to-go-ahead/) [Horace Pippin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-pippin/) > [Anybody serious about poetry knows how hard it is to achieve anything worthwhile in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/anybody-serious-about-poetry-knows-how-hard-it-is-to-achieve-anything/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [No one knows how hard one works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-vreeland/no-one-knows-how-hard-one-works/) [Diana Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-vreeland/) > [Everybody knows how hard Jay Rock is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-rock/everybody-knows-how-hard-jay-rock-is/) [Jay Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-rock/) > [Nobody knows the hard work that goes in the morning before I do anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-harvey/nobody-knows-the-hard-work-that-goes-in-the-morning-before-i-do/) [Matt Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-harvey/) > [No one but YOU knows how hard you work,how many hours you put in behind the scenes,so rely on YOURSELF for approval, not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/addicted2successcom/no-one-but-you-knows-how-hard-you-work-how-many-hours-you-put-in/) Addicted2successcom > [Nobody knows how hard I work!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhao-wei/nobody-knows-how-hard-i-work/) [Zhao Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhao-wei/) > [Anyone that's involved in football knows how hard it is to come back year after year and to stay at the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kerr/anyone-that-s-involved-in-football-knows-how-hard-it-is-to-come-back/) [Sam Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kerr/) > [Never seek for anyones approval because no one but you knows how hard you work and how many hours you put in behind the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-seek-for-anyones-approval-because-no-one-but-you-knows-how-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everybody who knows me knows I'm very hard on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ja-morant/everybody-who-knows-me-knows-i-m-very-hard-on-myself/) [Ja Morant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ja-morant/) > [Everyone knows how much and how hard we train. If I hope to continue goalkeeping until I am 36 or 37, then you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thibaut-courtois/everyone-knows-how-much-and-how-hard-we-train-if-i-hope-to-continue/) [Thibaut Courtois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thibaut-courtois/) > [Prandelli knows me, he knows how hard I work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ciro-immobile/prandelli-knows-me-he-knows-how-hard-i-work/) [Ciro Immobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ciro-immobile/) ## More by Horace Pippin > [The war brought out all the art in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-pippin/the-war-brought-out-all-the-art-in-me/) [Horace Pippin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-pippin/) > [Pictures just come to my mind and I tell my heart to go ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-pippin/pictures-just-come-to-my-mind-and-i-tell-my-heart-to-go-ahead/) [Horace Pippin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-pippin/) > [“The End of the War: Starting Home”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-pippin/the-end-of-the-war-starting-home/) [Horace Pippin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-pippin/) > [“I did not care what or where I went. I asked God to help me, and he did so. And that is the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-pippin/i-did-not-care-what-or-where-i-went-i-asked-god-to-help-me-and-he-did/) [Horace Pippin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-pippin/) > [The pictures come to me in my mind, and if to me it is a worthwhile picture I paint it I do over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-pippin/the-pictures-come-to-me-in-my-mind-and-if-to-me-it-is-a-worthwhile/) [Horace Pippin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-pippin/) > [My opinion of art is that a man should have love for it, because my idea is that he paints from his heart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-pippin/my-opinion-of-art-is-that-a-man-should-have-love-for-it-because-my/) [Horace Pippin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-pippin/) [Explore all 7 Horace Pippin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-pippin/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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 > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If a man knows nothing but hard times, he will paint them, for he must be true to himself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Horace Pippin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-pippin/if-a-man-knows-nothing-but-hard-times-he-will-paint-them-for-he-must/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-pippin/if-a-man-knows-nothing-but-hard-times-he-will-paint-them-for-he-must/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/horace-pippin-52561_being-true_if-a-man-knows-nothing-but-hard-times-he_2217272.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/horace-pippin-52561_being-true_if-a-man-knows-nothing-but-hard-times-he_2217272.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa2/horace-pippin-52561_being-true_if-a-man-knows-nothing-but-hard-times-he_2217272.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If a man knows nothing but hard times, he will paint them, for he must be true to himself.” — Horace Pippin", "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": "Horace Pippin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-pippin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If a man knows nothing but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-pippin/if-a-man-knows-nothing-but-hard-times-he-will-paint-them-for-he-must/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-pippin/if-a-man-knows-nothing-but-hard-times-he-will-paint-them-for-he-must/#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 } } ] } ```