--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know if I'm an impressionist or…" description: "\"I don't know if I'm an impressionist or an expressionist. You can call me an American first... I've been labeled doing neimanism, so that's what it is,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/leroy-neiman-17110_artist_i-don-t-know-if-i-m-an-impressionist-or_1681442.png" --- # I don't know if I'm an impressionist or an expressionist… ![“I don't know if I'm an impressionist or an expressionist. You can call me an American first... I've been labeled doing neimanism, so that's what it is, I guess.” quote by LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/leroy-neiman-17110_artist_i-don-t-know-if-i-m-an-impressionist-or_1681442.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/leroy-neiman-17110_artist_i-don-t-know-if-i-m-an-impressionist-or_1681442.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96d/leroy-neiman-17110_artist_i-don-t-know-if-i-m-an-impressionist-or_1681442.png) > “I don't know if I'm an impressionist or an expressionist. You can call me an American first... I've been labeled doing neimanism, so that's what it is, I guess.” [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker is uncertain about his artistic classification, emphasizing national identity over stylistic labels. **In simple terms:** He prefers being seen as American rather than fitting a specific art movement. Key Takeaway Embrace personal identity over external labels. Themes identity artistic classification nationalism Mood reflective pragmatic Type personal artistic When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - public speaking - media interviews Key Concepts impressionism expressionism neimanism Questions to Reflect On - How does national identity influence artistic expression? - Can labels both constrain creativity? A Different Perspective Art labels can limit perception of an artist’s work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Impressionist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impressionist/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) ## Related quotes > [I was not an Abstract Expressionist. Nor was I an Irascible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hedda-sterne/i-was-not-an-abstract-expressionist-nor-was-i-an-irascible/) [Hedda Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hedda-sterne/) > [After being an Impressionist, Cubist, and an Abstract Expressionist, I was influenced by realistic artists, including Andrew Wyeth in the late '50s, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bateman/after-being-an-impressionist-cubist-and-an-abstract-expressionist-i/) [Robert Bateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bateman/) > [“I’d paint with a beard if I could grow out of my abstract expressionist phase.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-d-paint-with-a-beard-if-i-could-grow-out-of-my-abstract/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I was an abstract expressionist before I had seen any abstract expressionist paintings. I started when I was a kid and continued just doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/i-was-an-abstract-expressionist-before-i-had-seen-any-abstract/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [I would describe my work as expressionist. The expressionist point of view is stressing your own feelings about something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-lawrence/i-would-describe-my-work-as-expressionist-the-expressionist-point-of/) [Jacob Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-lawrence/) > [I'm not an Abstraction Expressionist, but I think dedication to paintings comes from an early interest in that work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/i-m-not-an-abstraction-expressionist-but-i-think-dedication-to/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) > [You have to have the time to feel sorry for yourself in order to be a good abstract expressionist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/you-have-to-have-the-time-to-feel-sorry-for-yourself-in-order-to-be-a/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [“How can U say one style is better than another. You ought to be able to be an Abstract Expressionist next week, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/legs-mcneil/how-can-u-say-one-style-is-better-than-another-you-ought-to-be-able/) [Legs McNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/legs-mcneil/) > [Yes, I did, I mean I painted er, in a kind of abstract expressionist way, because of course that was exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/yes-i-did-i-mean-i-painted-er-in-a-kind-of-abstract-expressionist-way/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Fiction is an expressionist painting rather than a photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josip-novakovich/fiction-is-an-expressionist-painting-rather-than-a-photograph/) [Josip Novakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josip-novakovich/) > [I'm not an Expressionist. I love to look at de Kooning, but I've got this kind of secret life, and that is something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-m-not-an-expressionist-i-love-to-look-at-de-kooning-but-i-ve-got/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [“I had grown up under the heroic spell of the Abstract Expressionist painters,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/i-had-grown-up-under-the-heroic-spell-of-the-abstract-expressionist/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [“Where the realist would say, "One day Gregor Samsa woke up to the realization that he was like a cockroach," the expressionist heightens or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/where-the-realist-would-say-one-day-gregor-samsa-woke-up-to-the/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [I had always loved expressionist painting, like every European. In fact I admired it all the more because these were precisely the paintings despised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-had-always-loved-expressionist-painting-like-every-european-in-fact/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I am an expressionist and by that I mean that I'm not a photographer or a writer or a painter or a tap dancer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/i-am-an-expressionist-and-by-that-i-mean-that-i-m-not-a-photographer/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) ## More by LeRoy Neiman > [There's no greatest moment in the arts. It's a life; it's a continuity thing. You can't have a great moment because it's spiritual. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/there-s-no-greatest-moment-in-the-arts-it-s-a-life-it-s-a-continuity/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [I've got the public. I don't care about the critics. I did at one time. I don't any more. I did when I needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/i-ve-got-the-public-i-don-t-care-about-the-critics-i-did-at-one-time/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [I've zeroed in on what you would call action and excellence... Everybody who does anything to try to succeed has to give the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/i-ve-zeroed-in-on-what-you-would-call-action-and-excellence-everybody/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > ['Playboy' made the good life a reality for me and made it the subject matter of my paintings - not affluence and luxury as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/playboy-made-the-good-life-a-reality-for-me-and-made-it-the-subject/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [I draw all the time. Drawing is my backbone. I don't think a painter has to be able to draw, I just think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/i-draw-all-the-time-drawing-is-my-backbone-i-don-t-think-a-painter/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [Eating is one of the great beauties in life. One of my favorite recreations... eating with friends, the service, the ambience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/eating-is-one-of-the-great-beauties-in-life-one-of-my-favorite/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [I hold doors open for all the women. Men can open the doors for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/i-hold-doors-open-for-all-the-women-men-can-open-the-doors-for/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [It's a nice feeling to go out in the world and look for excellence - the best in man. My subject is very valid.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/it-s-a-nice-feeling-to-go-out-in-the-world-and-look-for-excellence/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [The people who love my paintings, that respond to them the most, they're spectators, they're not viewers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/the-people-who-love-my-paintings-that-respond-to-them-the-most-they/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [When I paint, I seriously consider the public presence of a person - the surface facade. I am less concerned with how people look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/when-i-paint-i-seriously-consider-the-public-presence-of-a-person-the/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [I love the passion you go through while you're creating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/i-love-the-passion-you-go-through-while-you-re-creating/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [I always stayed in tune with my own ambitions and attitudes and I'm still my intractable old self, for better or worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/i-always-stayed-in-tune-with-my-own-ambitions-and-attitudes-and-i-m/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [I've met and sketched most of the great athletes from the past five decades and their movement, grace and energy have kept me captivated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/i-ve-met-and-sketched-most-of-the-great-athletes-from-the-past-five/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [Some people try to paint in my style. Some simply sell pirated copies of my work. Some claim to be my publisher or agent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/some-people-try-to-paint-in-my-style-some-simply-sell-pirated-copies/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [It has been difficult to hold onto many paintings but I have retained a few...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/it-has-been-difficult-to-hold-onto-many-paintings-but-i-have-retained/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) [Explore all 38 LeRoy Neiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) ## 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": "I don't know if I'm an impressionist or an expressionist. You can call me an American first... 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