--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ah but Art never fails anyone, magic and…" description: "\"“Ah but Art never fails anyone, magic and medicine may certainly fail, but never Art.”\" — Jim Fergus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/jim-fergus-30528_quote_ah-but-art-never-fails-anyone-magic-and_1739378.jpg" --- # Ah but Art never fails anyone, magic and medicine may… ![“Ah but Art never fails anyone, magic and medicine may certainly fail, but never Art.” quote by Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/jim-fergus-30528_quote_ah-but-art-never-fails-anyone-magic-and_1739378.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/jim-fergus-30528_quote_ah-but-art-never-fails-anyone-magic-and_1739378.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/jim-fergus-30528_quote_ah-but-art-never-fails-anyone-magic-and_1739378.jpg) > ““Ah but Art never fails anyone, magic and medicine may certainly fail, but never Art.”” [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art endures where magic and medicine fail, offering lasting value. **In simple terms:** Art never fails, unlike other powers. Key Takeaway Value and create enduring art. Themes art longevity creativity Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - therapy - personal expression Key Concepts aesthetics cultural impact Questions to Reflect On - How can art complement other solutions? - What role does art play in your life? A Different Perspective Art may not solve practical problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) ## Related quotes > [A few hundred years ago there were no differences between magic and medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/a-few-hundred-years-ago-there-were-no-differences-between-magic-and/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [Prayer is a very precious medicine, one that certainly helps and never fails, if you will only use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/prayer-is-a-very-precious-medicine-one-that-certainly-helps-and-never/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [If history were a photograph of the past it would be flat and uninspiring. Happily, it is a painting; and, like all works of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-nevins/if-history-were-a-photograph-of-the-past-it-would-be-flat-and/) Allan Nevins > [Beyond a narrow, elite audience, there is a pervasive sense from the side of the public that much contemporary art fails to connect -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/beyond-a-narrow-elite-audience-there-is-a-pervasive-sense-from-the/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [“We are our own art. If everything else fails, it’s all we have. And that’s pretty great.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kristian-flores/we-are-our-own-art-if-everything-else-fails-it-s-all-we-have-and-that/) [Karl Kristian Flores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kristian-flores/) > [“The failure of art is, as we have said, not a complete failure. Substantial truth is revealed to us, we are not cheated of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-g-collingwood/the-failure-of-art-is-as-we-have-said-not-a-complete-failure/) [R. G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-g-collingwood/) > [When your art fails, make better art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/when-your-art-fails-make-better-art/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [In a sense, the first (if not necessarily the prime) function of a novelist, of ANY artist, is to entertain. If the poem, painting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-brophy/in-a-sense-the-first-if-not-necessarily-the-prime-function-of-a/) [Brigid Brophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-brophy/) > [“A great magician is not more magical than other magicians; he is just more magical in his presentation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/a-great-magician-is-not-more-magical-than-other-magicians-he-is-just/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Half of the pleasure of painting and feeling the joy of the creative act is sharing it with others and the feeling of connection.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-genn/half-of-the-pleasure-of-painting-and-feeling-the-joy-of-the-creative/) [Sara Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-genn/) > [There's nothing more special than intellect and labour that makes painting work. There's no magic there; it's information, and it's work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/there-s-nothing-more-special-than-intellect-and-labour-that-makes/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [“(Evil people) do not believe in forgiveness. Their transgressions are either punished or not punished. That is the only result that matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mchugh/evil-people-do-not-believe-in-forgiveness-their-transgressions-are/) [Daniel McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mchugh/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [I have a lot of secret uses for sour cream, which is the magic ingredient in my mac and cheese. It's an old-timey, Southern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/i-have-a-lot-of-secret-uses-for-sour-cream-which-is-the-magic/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) ## More by Jim Fergus > [Yet only the atrocities of the conquered are referred to as criminal acts; those of the conqueror are justified as necessary, heroic, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/yet-only-the-atrocities-of-the-conquered-are-referred-to-as-criminal/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [“...the Sierra, a region so quiet and pristine that we have the sense of being the first human beings ever to set foot in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/the-sierra-a-region-so-quiet-and-pristine-that-we-have-the-sense-of/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [Your power as a woman, as a mother, is your medicine, and it saved you. Take your courage in that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/your-power-as-a-woman-as-a-mother-is-your-medicine-and-it-saved-you/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [“My definition of LUNATIC ASYLUM: A place where lunatics are created.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/my-definition-of-lunatic-asylum-a-place-where-lunatics-are-created/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [“For their part, the savage men appear to spend an inordinate amount of time lounging around their lodges, smoking and gossiping among themselves...so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/for-their-part-the-savage-men-appear-to-spend-an-inordinate-amount-of/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [Don't you know that I laugh because it is my last defense against tears?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/don-t-you-know-that-i-laugh-because-it-is-my-last-defense-against/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [“I push him from my mind. This is no act of easy omission on my part; I do not consign him casually to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/i-push-him-from-my-mind-this-is-no-act-of-easy-omission-on-my-part-i/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [“I knew then that when we had crested that final tortuos pass in the rocks and dropped down into this valley, we had crossed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/i-knew-then-that-when-we-had-crested-that-final-tortuos-pass-in-the/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [“that's exactly the good thing about the Injun life--you don't have to stop and think about whether or not you're 'happy'--which in my opinion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/that-s-exactly-the-good-thing-about-the-injun-life-you-don-t-have-to/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [“It was our understanding that we were to be instructing them in the ways of the civilized world, not being made beasts of burden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/it-was-our-understanding-that-we-were-to-be-instructing-them-in-the/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [“But others of us believed that the only true happiness our Sara had ever known in her short life on this earth had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/but-others-of-us-believed-that-the-only-true-happiness-our-sara-had/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [“The law of the jungle which I learned at a young age, and have been trying to escape ever since, is that we what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/the-law-of-the-jungle-which-i-learned-at-a-young-age-and-have-been/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [“I, personally, have resolved never to display weakness, to be always strong and firm and forthright, to show neither fear nor uncertainty-- no matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/i-personally-have-resolved-never-to-display-weakness-to-be-always/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [...how odd to think of one's life not as chapters in a book but as complete volumes, separate and distinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/how-odd-to-think-of-one-s-life-not-as-chapters-in-a-book-but-as/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [“As I squat to pee I look upward at the billions of stars and planets in the heavens and somehow my own insignificance no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/as-i-squat-to-pee-i-look-upward-at-the-billions-of-stars-and-planets/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) [Explore all 16 Jim Fergus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) ## 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": "“Ah but Art never fails anyone, magic and medicine may certainly fail, but never Art.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jim Fergus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/ah-but-art-never-fails-anyone-magic-and-medicine-may-certainly-fail/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/ah-but-art-never-fails-anyone-magic-and-medicine-may-certainly-fail/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/jim-fergus-30528_quote_ah-but-art-never-fails-anyone-magic-and_1739378.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/jim-fergus-30528_quote_ah-but-art-never-fails-anyone-magic-and_1739378.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/jim-fergus-30528_quote_ah-but-art-never-fails-anyone-magic-and_1739378.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ah but Art never fails anyone, magic and medicine may certainly fail, but never Art.” — Jim Fergus", "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": "Jim Fergus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Ah but Art never fails anyone,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/ah-but-art-never-fails-anyone-magic-and-medicine-may-certainly-fail/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/ah-but-art-never-fails-anyone-magic-and-medicine-may-certainly-fail/#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 } } ] } ```