--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be an artist is first to be a manual…" description: "\"To be an artist is first to be a manual laborer.\" — Irving Stone" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08c/irving-stone-3288_art_to-be-an-artist-is-first-to-be-a-manual_1934172.png" --- # To be an artist is first to be a manual laborer. ![“To be an artist is first to be a manual laborer.” quote by Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08c/irving-stone-3288_art_to-be-an-artist-is-first-to-be-a-manual_1934172.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08c/irving-stone-3288_art_to-be-an-artist-is-first-to-be-a-manual_1934172.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08c/irving-stone-3288_art_to-be-an-artist-is-first-to-be-a-manual_1934172.png) > “To be an artist is first to be a manual laborer.” [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being an artist requires the humility and hard work of manual labor. **In simple terms:** Art demands hard work. Key Takeaway Embrace labor in creativity. Themes art humility work ethic craftsmanship Mood determined inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - painting - writing - music - performance Key Concepts creative process discipline Questions to Reflect On - What laborious tasks support your art? - How do you balance toil and inspiration? A Different Perspective Hard work may be undervalued. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Manual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-manual-3044834/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Laborer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laborer/) [Laborers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laborers/) [Manual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manual/) [Manual Laborer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manual-laborer-3044833/) [Manuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manuals/) ## Related quotes > [I class myself as a manual laborer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-white/i-class-myself-as-a-manual-laborer/) [Theodore White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-white/) > [The really efficient laborer will be found not to crowd his day with work, but will saunter to his task surrounded by a wide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-really-efficient-laborer-will-be-found-not-to-crowd-his-day-with/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Man exists for his own sake and not to add a laborer to the State.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/man-exists-for-his-own-sake-and-not-to-add-a-laborer-to-the-state/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Ah little recks the laborer, How near his work is holding him to God, The loving Laborer through space and time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/ah-little-recks-the-laborer-how-near-his-work-is-holding-him-to-god/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [I consider myself a laborer, building my career brick over brick under the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/i-consider-myself-a-laborer-building-my-career-brick-over-brick-under/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [The aim of the laborer should be, not to get his living, to get "a good job," but to perform well a certain work;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-aim-of-the-laborer-should-be-not-to-get-his-living-to-get-a-good/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [My father loved me so much that he did not want me to be a laborer or anything. I dont know if its the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-pesci/my-father-loved-me-so-much-that-he-did-not-want-me-to-be-a-laborer-or/) [Joe Pesci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-pesci/) > [Pay the laborer his wages before his sweat dries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nazr-mohammed/pay-the-laborer-his-wages-before-his-sweat-dries/) [Nazr Mohammed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nazr-mohammed/) > [A workman is not just a workman. A laborer is not just a laborer. An office worker is not just an office worker. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/a-workman-is-not-just-a-workman-a-laborer-is-not-just-a-laborer-an/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [A laborer no longer makes whole articles. He receives raw materials, puts his touch on them, and passes them to another worker in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bates-clark/a-laborer-no-longer-makes-whole-articles-he-receives-raw-materials/) [John Bates Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bates-clark/) > [I am a true laborer: I earn that I eat, get that I wear, owe no man hate, envy no man's happiness, glad of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-am-a-true-laborer-i-earn-that-i-eat-get-that-i-wear-owe-no-man-hate/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The wind, a sightless laborer, whistles at his task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-wind-a-sightless-laborer-whistles-at-his-task/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Woman has been the great unpaid laborer of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/woman-has-been-the-great-unpaid-laborer-of-the-world/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [Writing a manual forces you to place your thoughts and ideas down on paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-vanderveer/writing-a-manual-forces-you-to-place-your-thoughts-and-ideas-down-on/) [Tara VanDerveer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-vanderveer/) > [A screenplay is really an instruction manual, and it can be interpreted in any number of ways. The casting, the choice of location, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/a-screenplay-is-really-an-instruction-manual-and-it-can-be/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) ## More by Irving Stone > [ You cannot be the good all the time — sometimes it is necessary to get angry. \[Vincent Van Gogh\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/you-cannot-be-the-good-all-the-time-sometimes-it-is-necessary-to-get/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [The brooding is better than the joy because even if the heart fills with happiness, it still mourns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/the-brooding-is-better-than-the-joy-because-even-if-the-heart-fills/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [“Diligence does not work if there is a lack of innate talent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/diligence-does-not-work-if-there-is-a-lack-of-innate-talent/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [“From this vantage point he came to a realization that everything that had happened to him before this had been a journey upward through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/from-this-vantage-point-he-came-to-a-realization-that-everything-that/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [Listen, my friend, all forms that exist in God's universe can be found in the human figure. A man's body and face can tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/listen-my-friend-all-forms-that-exist-in-god-s-universe-can-be-found/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [You cannot be firmly certain about anything. You can only have enough courage and strength to do what you consider to be right. Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/you-cannot-be-firmly-certain-about-anything-you-can-only-have-enough/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [“Only suffering grows big artists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/only-suffering-grows-big-artists/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [“The fields that push up the corn, and the water that rushes down the ravine, the juice of the grape, and the life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/the-fields-that-push-up-the-corn-and-the-water-that-rushes-down-the/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [Nature always resists the artist at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/nature-always-resists-the-artist-at-the-beginning/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [Sometimes men are generous and forgiving, sometimes angry and blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/sometimes-men-are-generous-and-forgiving-sometimes-angry-and-blind/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [Reading is a stout-hearted activity, disporting courage, keenness, stick-to-it-ness. It is also, in my experience, one of the most thrilling and enduring delights of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/reading-is-a-stout-hearted-activity-disporting-courage-keenness-stick/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [Do not call yourself old. A man is as old as the creative force within him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/do-not-call-yourself-old-a-man-is-as-old-as-the-creative-force-within/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [“Art should be linked to abstract things - color, line, tone. It is not an instrument to improve social conditions and chase ugliness. Painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/art-should-be-linked-to-abstract-things-color-line-tone-it-is-not-an/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [ I will be an artist. I am sure I will. \[Vincent Van Gogh\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/i-will-be-an-artist-i-am-sure-i-will-vincent-van-gogh/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [His mind was like a soup dish, wide and shallow; it could hold a small amount of nearly anything, but the slightest jarring spilled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/his-mind-was-like-a-soup-dish-wide-and-shallow-it-could-hold-a-small/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) [Explore all 130 Irving Stone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) ## 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": "To be an artist is first to be a manual laborer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Irving Stone" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/to-be-an-artist-is-first-to-be-a-manual-laborer/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/to-be-an-artist-is-first-to-be-a-manual-laborer/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08c/irving-stone-3288_art_to-be-an-artist-is-first-to-be-a-manual_1934172.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08c/irving-stone-3288_art_to-be-an-artist-is-first-to-be-a-manual_1934172.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08c/irving-stone-3288_art_to-be-an-artist-is-first-to-be-a-manual_1934172.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To be an artist is first to be a manual laborer.” — Irving Stone", "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": "Irving Stone", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To be an artist is first...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/to-be-an-artist-is-first-to-be-a-manual-laborer/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/to-be-an-artist-is-first-to-be-a-manual-laborer/#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 } } ] } ```