--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For the slow labor of realizing a…" description: "\"For the slow labor of realizing a potential gift the artist must retreat to those Bohemias, halfway between the slums and the library, where life is no..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/lewis-hyde-19548_art_for-the-slow-labor-of-realizing-a-potent_2183237.jpg" --- # For the slow labor of realizing a potential gift the… ![“For the slow labor of realizing a potential gift the artist must retreat to those Bohemias, halfway between the slums and the library, where life is not counted by the clock and where the talented may be sure they will be ignored until that time, if it ever comes, when their gifts are viable…” quote by Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/lewis-hyde-19548_art_for-the-slow-labor-of-realizing-a-potent_2183237.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/lewis-hyde-19548_art_for-the-slow-labor-of-realizing-a-potent_2183237.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/lewis-hyde-19548_art_for-the-slow-labor-of-realizing-a-potent_2183237.jpg) > “For the slow labor of realizing a potential gift the artist must retreat to those Bohemias, halfway between the slums and the library, where life is not counted by the clock and where the talented may be sure they will be ignored until that time, if it ever comes, when their gifts are viable enough to be set free and survive in the world.” [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists need isolation away from commercial pressures to nurture talent until it becomes viable. **In simple terms:** Artists need space to grow before success. Key Takeaway Seek solitude for creative development. Themes creativity isolation artistic development Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - artist retreats - early career development - creative blocks - finding audience Key Concepts gift economy bohemianism creative incubation Questions to Reflect On - How does solitude affect your creative output? - When is collaboration more beneficial than isolation? A Different Perspective Isolation can lead to stagnation without external feedback. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Retreat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-retreat-4725635/) [Bohemia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bohemia/) [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Comes Gifts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comes-gifts-3173302/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Gifts Viable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gifts-viable-4725637/) [Halfway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/halfway/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Ignored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignored/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [Retreat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retreat/) [Retreat Bohemias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retreat-bohemias-4725636/) [Set free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/set-free/) [Slums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slums/) [Slums Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slums-library-4725638/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I'm very simple when it comes to gifts, so the best ones that I've received have love as their main intention. I appreciate everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adriana-lima/i-m-very-simple-when-it-comes-to-gifts-so-the-best-ones-that-i-ve/) [Adriana Lima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adriana-lima/) > [Soho has got to be at its centre. It's got such a history for rock, pop, poetry, jazz, writers, all those things, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-almond/soho-has-got-to-be-at-its-centre-it-s-got-such-a-history-for-rock-pop/) [Marc Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-almond/) > [Bohemia has no banner. It survives by discretion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/bohemia-has-no-banner-it-survives-by-discretion/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [“The neighborhood-towns were part of larger ethnic states. To the north of the Loop was Germany. To the northwest was Poland. To the west…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-royko/the-neighborhood-towns-were-part-of-larger-ethnic-states-to-the-north/) [Mike Royko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-royko/) > [“If Prague and the rest of Bohemia, with all their charming hospodas delightful architecture and pretty landscape should become too cosy for you, Ostrava,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terje-b-englund/if-prague-and-the-rest-of-bohemia-with-all-their-charming-hospodas/) [Terje B. Englund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terje-b-englund/) > [There's very little bohemia in Australia and it's one of the things I miss most about not living in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-ward/there-s-very-little-bohemia-in-australia-and-it-s-one-of-the-things-i/) [Rachel Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-ward/) > [Society may shun bohemia, may put it down, may consider it useless and ineffective, but it is where everything cooks and boils and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donovan/society-may-shun-bohemia-may-put-it-down-may-consider-it-useless-and/) [Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donovan/) > [Bohemia is a commune in which the Revolution is over and everyone is a member of the aristocracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/bohemia-is-a-commune-in-which-the-revolution-is-over-and-everyone-is/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [“Almost immediately after jazz musicians arrived in Paris, they began to gather in two of the city’s most important creative neighborhoods: Montmartre and Montparnasse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-h-jackson/almost-immediately-after-jazz-musicians-arrived-in-paris-they-began/) [Jeffrey H. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-h-jackson/) > [There are no roads in all Bohemia !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gelett-burgess/there-are-no-roads-in-all-bohemia/) [Gelett Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gelett-burgess/) > [To the extent that I can still believe in Bohemia, which I think is very important to me in some way that I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/to-the-extent-that-i-can-still-believe-in-bohemia-which-i-think-is/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Bohemia and all its works are vanished out of America; or, more exactly, bohemia has migrated to the middle class, and is alive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/bohemia-and-all-its-works-are-vanished-out-of-america-or-more-exactly/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [Arnošt Lustig is one of the leading contemporary Czech fiction writers, and certainly the most important Jewish writer of Bohemia to have survived the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-skvorecky/arno-t-lustig-is-one-of-the-leading-contemporary-czech-fiction/) [Josef Skvorecky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-skvorecky/) > [ Preserve there \[bohemia\] a hidden seed to glorify thy name. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-amos-comenius/preserve-there-bohemia-a-hidden-seed-to-glorify-thy-name/) [John Amos Comenius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-amos-comenius/) > [The closing period of the fifteenth century witnessed the slow but sure increase of the churches of the Brethren. Although far from being unmolested,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-hall-gillett/the-closing-period-of-the-fifteenth-century-witnessed-the-slow-but/) [Ezra Hall Gillett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-hall-gillett/) ## More by Lewis Hyde > [We are only alive to the degree that we can let ourselves be moved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/we-are-only-alive-to-the-degree-that-we-can-let-ourselves-be-moved/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [What is it about a work of art, even when it is bought and sold in the market, that makes us distinguish it from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/what-is-it-about-a-work-of-art-even-when-it-is-bought-and-sold-in-the/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [Erik Erikson has commented: Potentially creative men like (Bernard) Shaw build the personal fundament of their work during a self-decreed moratorium, during which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/erik-erikson-has-commented-potentially-creative-men-like-bernard-shaw/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [“All cultures seem to find a slightly alien local population to carry the Hermes projection. For the Vietnamese it is the Chinese, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/all-cultures-seem-to-find-a-slightly-alien-local-population-to-carry/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [The passage into mystery always refreshes. If, when we work, we can look once a day upon the face of mystery, then our labor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/the-passage-into-mystery-always-refreshes-if-when-we-work-we-can-look/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [To be a great teacher, you can't simply be looking at how to earn your income. And with a priest or spiritual leader -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/to-be-a-great-teacher-you-can-t-simply-be-looking-at-how-to-earn-your/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [Irony has only emergency use. Carried over time it is the voice of the trapped who have come to enjoy their cage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/irony-has-only-emergency-use-carried-over-time-it-is-the-voice-of-the/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [We forgive when we give up attachment to our wounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/we-forgive-when-we-give-up-attachment-to-our-wounds/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [All that we make and do is shaped by the communities and traditions that contain us, not to mention by money, power, politics, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/all-that-we-make-and-do-is-shaped-by-the-communities-and-traditions/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [Science may not be as intimate as the medical profession; nonetheless, it certainly is a community in which ideas are often shared as contributions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/science-may-not-be-as-intimate-as-the-medical-profession-nonetheless/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [“There is the family of our birth and then there is a more noble world to which we really belong; the richness of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/there-is-the-family-of-our-birth-and-then-there-is-a-more-noble-world/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [An anaesthetic is a poet-killer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/an-anaesthetic-is-a-poet-killer/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [“Irony got dangerous when it became a habit. Wallace quoted Lewis Hyde…”Irony has only emergency use. Carried over time, it is the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/irony-got-dangerous-when-it-became-a-habit-wallace-quoted-lewis-hyde/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [When we are moved by art we are grateful that the artist lived, grateful that he labored in the service of his gifts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/when-we-are-moved-by-art-we-are-grateful-that-the-artist-lived/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [Unlike the sale of a commodity, the giving of a gift tends to establish a relationship between the parties involved. When gifts circulate within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/unlike-the-sale-of-a-commodity-the-giving-of-a-gift-tends-to/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) [Explore all 32 Lewis Hyde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) ## 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": "For the slow labor of realizing a potential gift the artist must retreat to those Bohemias, halfway between the slums and the library, where life is not counted by the clock and where the talented may be sure they will be ignored until that time, if it ever comes, when their gifts are viable enough to be set free and survive in the world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lewis Hyde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/for-the-slow-labor-of-realizing-a-potential-gift-the-artist-must/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/for-the-slow-labor-of-realizing-a-potential-gift-the-artist-must/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/lewis-hyde-19548_art_for-the-slow-labor-of-realizing-a-potent_2183237.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/lewis-hyde-19548_art_for-the-slow-labor-of-realizing-a-potent_2183237.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/lewis-hyde-19548_art_for-the-slow-labor-of-realizing-a-potent_2183237.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For the slow labor of realizing a potential gift the artist must retreat to those Bohemias, halfway between…” — Lewis Hyde", "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": "Lewis Hyde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For the slow labor of realizing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/for-the-slow-labor-of-realizing-a-potential-gift-the-artist-must/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/for-the-slow-labor-of-realizing-a-potential-gift-the-artist-must/#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 } } ] } ```