--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was brought up on art. My father…" description: "\"I was brought up on art. My father thought I had a great hand at art and sent me to art school. But he did not want me to become a photographer.\" — Imo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/imogen-cunningham-15682_art_i-was-brought-up-on-art-my-father-though_2388416.png" --- # I was brought up on art. My father thought I had a great… ![“I was brought up on art. My father thought I had a great hand at art and sent me to art school. But he did not want me to become a photographer.” quote by Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/imogen-cunningham-15682_art_i-was-brought-up-on-art-my-father-though_2388416.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/imogen-cunningham-15682_art_i-was-brought-up-on-art-my-father-though_2388416.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/imogen-cunningham-15682_art_i-was-brought-up-on-art-my-father-though_2388416.png) > “I was brought up on art. My father thought I had a great hand at art and sent me to art school. But he did not want me to become a photographer.” [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Family expectations can shape early paths, but personal passion may diverge, leading to self‑discovery. **In simple terms:** Family expectations may differ from personal passion. Key Takeaway Follow your own artistic calling. Themes family art identity self‑discovery Mood inspirational thoughtful Type memoir advice When to use this quote - career choice - art education - photography - self‑exploration Key Concepts creative autonomy personal fulfillment Questions to Reflect On - What passions have you pursued despite expectations? - How do you balance family influence with personal goals? A Different Perspective Pressure to conform can cause internal conflict and regret. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-father-3929608/) [Art school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-school/) [Brought Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brought-art-703455/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Father Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father-thought-257503/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-me/) ## Related quotes > [“Art, their father had frequently told them, was exactly that: to make art is the realize another's sadness within, realize the hidden sadness in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-wiggins/art-their-father-had-frequently-told-them-was-exactly-that-to-make/) [Marianne Wiggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-wiggins/) > [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/) > [I have been brought up around art. 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My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-shannon/my-father-thought-i-would-lead-a-simple-life-that-i-was-bright-but/) [Samantha Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-shannon/) > [I think it's strange to live in a house with someone you cannot talk to-especially when that someone is your father-and the thought makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/i-think-it-s-strange-to-live-in-a-house-with-someone-you-cannot-talk/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [My father thought sport was something fun - he didn't know it was a way to make money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haile-gebrselassie/my-father-thought-sport-was-something-fun-he-didn-t-know-it-was-a-way/) [Haile Gebrselassie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haile-gebrselassie/) > [I think my father thought I might be president of the United States. I think he would've been satisfied with secretary of state. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/i-think-my-father-thought-i-might-be-president-of-the-united-states-i/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [“You know who you should ask about this? My pal Ray, who works with me. He could tell you all about this." Lily's dad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/you-know-who-you-should-ask-about-this-my-pal-ray-who-works-with-me/) [M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/) > [Because I was the only child, I was completely indulged. My father thought I was the best looking boy. And even though I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-johar/because-i-was-the-only-child-i-was-completely-indulged-my-father/) [Karan Johar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-johar/) > [When I was growing up, I idolised my father. I thought his ghost followed me around the house. I had been told how he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aisling-bea/when-i-was-growing-up-i-idolised-my-father-i-thought-his-ghost/) [Aisling Bea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aisling-bea/) > [“Mother. Father. I am sorry. I have failed you both. I made a promise to protect our people, Mother. I thought if I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-bowden/mother-father-i-am-sorry-i-have-failed-you-both-i-made-a-promise-to/) [Oliver Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-bowden/) ## More by Imogen Cunningham > [I never divide photographers into creative and uncreative, I just call them photographers. Who is creative? How do you know who is creative or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/i-never-divide-photographers-into-creative-and-uncreative-i-just-call/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [I never stopped photographing. There were a couple of years when I didn't have a darkroom, but that didn't stop me from photographing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/i-never-stopped-photographing-there-were-a-couple-of-years-when-i/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [I wasn't very ambitious. I think that's the solution. I just took things as they came. I wouldn't say I didn't have any problem,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/i-wasn-t-very-ambitious-i-think-that-s-the-solution-i-just-took/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [I don't think there's any such thing as teaching people photography, other than influencing them a little. People have to be their own learners.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/i-don-t-think-there-s-any-such-thing-as-teaching-people-photography/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [Some people say to me, Isn't it too bad that people discovered you so late? I never thought that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/some-people-say-to-me-isn-t-it-too-bad-that-people-discovered-you-so/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [You see, I became kind of a drop-out in science after I came back to America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/you-see-i-became-kind-of-a-drop-out-in-science-after-i-came-back-to/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [When People magazine called me, I did the job on Ansel. I'm older than Ansel and he has to mind me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/when-people-magazine-called-me-i-did-the-job-on-ansel-i-m-older-than/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [When you do portraits professionally it's not a desire, it's for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/when-you-do-portraits-professionally-it-s-not-a-desire-it-s-for-money/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [Suppose Cartier-Bresson asked the man who jumped the puddle to do it again --- it never would have been the same. Start stealing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/suppose-cartier-bresson-asked-the-man-who-jumped-the-puddle-to-do-it/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [There are certain things you don't discuss with Ansel, especially if you don't agree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/there-are-certain-things-you-don-t-discuss-with-ansel-especially-if/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [Oh, you ask me, what is the greatest torture of a person who does portraits for a living? I could fill several volumes with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/oh-you-ask-me-what-is-the-greatest-torture-of-a-person-who-does/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [So many people dislike themselves so thoroughly that they never see any reproduction of themselves that suits. None of us is born with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/so-many-people-dislike-themselves-so-thoroughly-that-they-never-see/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [I was poor. When you're poor you work, and when you're rich you expect somebody to hand it to you. So I think being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/i-was-poor-when-you-re-poor-you-work-and-when-you-re-rich-you-expect/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [I became kind of a drop-out in science after I came back to America. I wanted to photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/i-became-kind-of-a-drop-out-in-science-after-i-came-back-to-america-i/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) > [ ...There are too many people studying it \[photography\] now who are never going to make it. You can't give them a formula for making… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-cunningham/there-are-too-many-people-studying-it-photography-now-who-are-never/) [Imogen Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) [Explore all 42 Imogen Cunningham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-cunningham/) ## 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": "I was brought up on art. 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