--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Isadore [Duncan], who had an un-American…" description: "\"Isadore [Duncan], who had an un-American genius for art, for organizing love, maternity, politics and pedagogy on a great personal scale, had also an u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/janet-flanner-23939_art_isadore-duncan-who-had-an-un-american-ge_1994139.jpg" --- # Isadore \[Duncan\], who had an un-American genius for art… ![“Isadore [Duncan], who had an un-American genius for art, for organizing love, maternity, politics and pedagogy on a great personal scale, had also an un-American genius for grandeur.” quote by Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/janet-flanner-23939_art_isadore-duncan-who-had-an-un-american-ge_1994139.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/janet-flanner-23939_art_isadore-duncan-who-had-an-un-american-ge_1994139.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/janet-flanner-23939_art_isadore-duncan-who-had-an-un-american-ge_1994139.jpg) > “Isadore \[Duncan\], who had an un-American genius for art, for organizing love, maternity, politics and pedagogy on a great personal scale, had also an un-American genius for grandeur.” [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes a person whose creative and organizational talents spanned many domains, yet also possessed a grand, unconventional ambition. **In simple terms:** A talented, ambitious person with broad influence. Key Takeaway Embrace both creativity and ambition. Themes creativity ambition multidisciplinary social impact Mood reflective admiring Type biographical analytical When to use this quote - artistic projects - community organizing - political activism - educational reform - family life Key Concepts Americanism grandiosity cultural synthesis Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal grandeur with community needs? - What risks arise from un-American ideals? A Different Perspective Grand ambitions can clash with practical realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Grandeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandeur/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Maternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maternity/) [Pedagogy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pedagogy/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [Lord of the golden tongue and smiting eyes; Great out of season and untimely wise: A man whose virtue, genius, grandeur, worth, Wrought deadlier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-watson/lord-of-the-golden-tongue-and-smiting-eyes-great-out-of-season-and/) [William Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-watson/) > [Talent and effort, combined with our various backgrounds and life experiences, has always been the lifeblood of our singular American genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/talent-and-effort-combined-with-our-various-backgrounds-and-life/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [The American people...have a stake in non-conformity. For they know that the American genius is non-conformist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-steele-commager/the-american-people-have-a-stake-in-non-conformity-for-they-know-that/) [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) > [Julius Eastman is the kind of American genius not enough people know about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-als/julius-eastman-is-the-kind-of-american-genius-not-enough-people-know/) [Hilton Als](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilton-als/) > [However old-fashioned and right-wing this may sound, the American genius for language lies in understatement, in saying things simply, pointedly and quickly, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/however-old-fashioned-and-right-wing-this-may-sound-the-american/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [Luckily for us, now that steam has narrowed the Atlantic to a strait, the nervous, rocky West is intruding a new and continental element…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/luckily-for-us-now-that-steam-has-narrowed-the-atlantic-to-a-strait/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Rules and models destroy genius and art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/rules-and-models-destroy-genius-and-art/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Every art critic and every writer doesn't have a frame to start off from. If I made a statement saying, "This is Abstract Expressionism,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-loeb/every-art-critic-and-every-writer-doesn-t-have-a-frame-to-start-off/) [Damian Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-loeb/) > [Genius is the art of taking pains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-c-hopkins/genius-is-the-art-of-taking-pains/) [Claude C. Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-c-hopkins/) > [The genius of art finds sanctuary among children and madmen to survive.That is who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/the-genius-of-art-finds-sanctuary-among-children-and-madmen-to/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [For ages past the Genius of Literature and the Genius of Art have walked together hand in hand. For the Goddess of letters is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-pyle/for-ages-past-the-genius-of-literature-and-the-genius-of-art-have/) [Howard Pyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-pyle/) > [The Muse gave the Greeks genius and the art of the well-turned phrase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-muse-gave-the-greeks-genius-and-the-art-of-the-well-turned-phrase/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Painting seems to be to the eye what dancing is to the limbs. When that has educated the frame to self-possession, to nimbleness,to grace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/painting-seems-to-be-to-the-eye-what-dancing-is-to-the-limbs-when/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [ Now, \[Donald\] Trump has thus far gotten endorsements from illustrious group, that includes Sarah Palin, David Duke, Dennis Rodman, racially profiling birther sheriff, Joe… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/now-donald-trump-has-thus-far-gotten-endorsements-from-illustrious/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [“Every dog deserves a place to live. Every dog deserves a place in your heart. Every dog deserves a place to walk. Every dog…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-duncan/every-dog-deserves-a-place-to-live-every-dog-deserves-a-place-in-your/) John Duncan ## More by Janet Flanner > [“She felt about a love set as a painter does about his masterpiece; each ace serve was a form of brushwork to her, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/she-felt-about-a-love-set-as-a-painter-does-about-his-masterpiece/) [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) > [I'm fond of anything that comes from the sea, and that includes sailors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/i-m-fond-of-anything-that-comes-from-the-sea-and-that-includes-sailors/) [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) > [She died with a knife in her hand in her kitchen, where she had cooked for fifty years, and the death was solemnly listed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/she-died-with-a-knife-in-her-hand-in-her-kitchen-where-she-had-cooked/) [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) > [“History looks queer when you're standing close to it, watching where it is coming from and how it's being made.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/history-looks-queer-when-you-re-standing-close-to-it-watching-where/) [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) > [In the history of art there are periods when bread seems so beautiful that it nearly gets into museums.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/in-the-history-of-art-there-are-periods-when-bread-seems-so-beautiful/) [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) > [Proust has been dead since 1922, yet the annual appearance of his posthumous works has left him, to the reader, alive. Now there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/proust-has-been-dead-since-1922-yet-the-annual-appearance-of-his/) [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) > [ \[Charles de Gaulle\] has been abysmally careless, like a man running a bus over mountains, who forgot to equip it with good brakes. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/charles-de-gaulle-has-been-abysmally-careless-like-a-man-running-a/) [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) > [I act as a sponge. I soak it up and squeeze it out in ink every two weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/i-act-as-a-sponge-i-soak-it-up-and-squeeze-it-out-in-ink-every-two/) [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) > [She had storms all her life, but she died peacefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/she-had-storms-all-her-life-but-she-died-peacefully/) [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) > [The stench of human wreckage in which the Nazi regime finally sank down to defeat has been the most shocking fact of modern times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/the-stench-of-human-wreckage-in-which-the-nazi-regime-finally-sank/) [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) > [Never have nights been more beautiful than these nights of anxiety. In the sky have been shining in trinity the moon, Venus and Mars.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/never-have-nights-been-more-beautiful-than-these-nights-of-anxiety-in/) [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) > [I keep going over a sentence. I nag it, gnaw it, pat and flatter it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/i-keep-going-over-a-sentence-i-nag-it-gnaw-it-pat-and-flatter-it/) [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) > [When I hear a writer say that they ‘put in a call,’ I want to pull my hair out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/when-i-hear-a-writer-say-that-they-put-in-a-call-i-want-to-pull-my/) [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) > [... people who don't want something are less likely to get it than people who do want something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/people-who-don-t-want-something-are-less-likely-to-get-it-than-people/) [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) > [The German passion for bureaucracy -- for written and signal forms . . . to move about, to work, to exist -- is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/the-german-passion-for-bureaucracy-for-written-and-signal-forms-to/) [Janet Flanner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) [Explore all 25 Janet Flanner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/) ## 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": "Isadore [Duncan], who had an un-American genius for art, for organizing love, maternity, politics and pedagogy on a great personal scale, had also an un-American genius for grandeur.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Janet Flanner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/isadore-duncan-who-had-an-un-american-genius-for-art-for-organizing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/isadore-duncan-who-had-an-un-american-genius-for-art-for-organizing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/janet-flanner-23939_art_isadore-duncan-who-had-an-un-american-ge_1994139.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/janet-flanner-23939_art_isadore-duncan-who-had-an-un-american-ge_1994139.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/janet-flanner-23939_art_isadore-duncan-who-had-an-un-american-ge_1994139.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Isadore [Duncan], who had an un-American genius for art, for organizing love, maternity, politics and…” — Janet Flanner", "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": "Janet Flanner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-flanner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Isadore [Duncan], who had an un-American...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/isadore-duncan-who-had-an-un-american-genius-for-art-for-organizing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-flanner/isadore-duncan-who-had-an-un-american-genius-for-art-for-organizing/#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 } } ] } ```