--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An artist is a prophet and seer, not a…" description: "\"An artist is a prophet and seer, not a paint craftsman or design maker, or reporter or entertainer... the artist has the superiorly searching perceptio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/morris-graves-37834_art_an-artist-is-a-prophet-and-seer-not-a-pa_2618586.jpg" --- # An artist is a prophet and seer, not a paint craftsman or… ![“An artist is a prophet and seer, not a paint craftsman or design maker, or reporter or entertainer... the artist has the superiorly searching perception with which that world outside of man's contamination can be penetrated and the truth drawn out from it.” quote by Morris Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/morris-graves-37834_art_an-artist-is-a-prophet-and-seer-not-a-pa_2618586.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/morris-graves-37834_art_an-artist-is-a-prophet-and-seer-not-a-pa_2618586.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/morris-graves-37834_art_an-artist-is-a-prophet-and-seer-not-a-pa_2618586.jpg) > “An artist is a prophet and seer, not a paint craftsman or design maker, or reporter or entertainer... the artist has the superiorly searching perception with which that world outside of man's contamination can be penetrated and the truth drawn out from it.” [Morris Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-graves/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists perceive reality beyond ordinary contamination, revealing deeper truths. **In simple terms:** Artists see hidden truths. Key Takeaway Cultivate deeper perception. Themes art truth perception Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - painting - writing - design - media criticism Key Concepts philosophical insight creative vision Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to see beyond contamination? - How can you train your perception? A Different Perspective Artists may be limited by personal bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Contamination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contamination/) [Craftsman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/craftsman/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Entertainers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertainers/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Prophet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prophet/) [Reporters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reporters/) [Seers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seers/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The truth is, I'm drawn to all kinds of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kaufman/the-truth-is-i-m-drawn-to-all-kinds-of-things/) [Philip Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kaufman/) > [I think that there's a difference between being an entertainer and being an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-foster/i-think-that-there-s-a-difference-between-being-an-entertainer-and/) [Mark Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-foster/) > [I'm in show business, and I'm an entertainer, but I also see myself as an artist doing social and spiritual work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/india-arie/i-m-in-show-business-and-i-m-an-entertainer-but-i-also-see-myself-as/) [India Arie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/india-arie/) > [I regard myself as an entertainer much more than an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/i-regard-myself-as-an-entertainer-much-more-than-an-artist/) [Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/) > [For a long time, I've distinguished between entertainer and performer and entertainer and artist. To me, an entertainer is someone who pleases others, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/for-a-long-time-i-ve-distinguished-between-entertainer-and-performer/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [When you can light your water on fire due to methane contamination in your ground water, what else can you do but laugh?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/when-you-can-light-your-water-on-fire-due-to-methane-contamination-in/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [Being vegan or vegetarian isn't just about compassion for animals. Most of the destruction of the planet is the result of all the clear-cutting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcnamara/being-vegan-or-vegetarian-isn-t-just-about-compassion-for-animals/) [William McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcnamara/) > [If you want to unleash more creativity in your company, you need to allow for a little contamination. It is the sand in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-wilson/if-you-want-to-unleash-more-creativity-in-your-company-you-need-to/) [Fred Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-wilson/) > [Forgiveness ... is the finishing of old business that allows us to experience the present, free of contamination from the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/forgiveness-is-the-finishing-of-old-business-that-allows-us-to/) [Joan Z. Borysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-z-borysenko/) > [“a. The chocolate in six (6) 100 gram subsamples contains an average of 60 or more insect fragments per 100 grams. or b. Any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fda-food-regulations/a-the-chocolate-in-six-6-100-gram-subsamples-contains-an-average-of/) FDA food regulations > [I sincerely join you in abjuring all political connection with every foreign power; and tho I cordially wish well to the progress of liberty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-sincerely-join-you-in-abjuring-all-political-connection-with-every/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Cross-pollination and "contamination" is really important to the health of fiction, and sometimes it's a literal conversation, too, in that writers who might never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/cross-pollination-and-contamination-is-really-important-to-the-health/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [The genocidal culture's image of woman as object and victim is paralleled by contemporary representations that continually show the Earth as a toy, machine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-caputi/the-genocidal-culture-s-image-of-woman-as-object-and-victim-is/) [Jane Caputi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-caputi/) > [The revolutions of thought which shape the basic outlook of an age are not disseminated through text-books- they spread like epidemics, through contamination by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-revolutions-of-thought-which-shape-the-basic-outlook-of-an-age/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [In a couple of decades you have half of the wells that are drilled right now, and you're talking about numbers in the millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/in-a-couple-of-decades-you-have-half-of-the-wells-that-are-drilled/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) ## More by Morris Graves > [I paint to rest from the phenomena of the external world-to pronounce and to make notations of its essences with which to verify the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-graves/i-paint-to-rest-from-the-phenomena-of-the-external-world-to-pronounce/) [Morris Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-graves/) > [It may not always be obvious at first, but I think that everyone can make a valuable contribution if only they put their minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-graves/it-may-not-always-be-obvious-at-first-but-i-think-that-everyone-can/) [Morris Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-graves/) > [It takes waking prayer and working prayer and going to bed in prayer each day with increasing dedication. I must be the best person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-graves/it-takes-waking-prayer-and-working-prayer-and-going-to-bed-in-prayer/) [Morris Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-graves/) > [I am able to make a contribution... Let me repeat my convictions, I can make a contribution to American painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-graves/i-am-able-to-make-a-contribution-let-me-repeat-my-convictions-i-can/) [Morris Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-graves/) > [I paint to evoke a changing language of symbols, a language with which to remark upon the qualities of our mysterious capacities which direct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-graves/i-paint-to-evoke-a-changing-language-of-symbols-a-language-with-which/) [Morris Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-graves/) > [You must first realize the thing completely in your mind. Then grasp the brush, fix your attention so that you see clearly what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-graves/you-must-first-realize-the-thing-completely-in-your-mind-then-grasp/) [Morris Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-graves/) > [Such compositions, line and color ideas, such wonders come into my mind and have stuck! - They will this time be dismissed only by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-graves/such-compositions-line-and-color-ideas-such-wonders-come-into-my-mind/) [Morris Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-graves/) > [The painting cannot be laid aside even for a day; for it takes constant work to keep 'flowing,' but above that it takes concentration,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-graves/the-painting-cannot-be-laid-aside-even-for-a-day-for-it-takes/) [Morris Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-graves/) > [I love and in a way need, a private secret place. It's a kind of deep obsession, but I also love to need and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-graves/i-love-and-in-a-way-need-a-private-secret-place-it-s-a-kind-of-deep/) [Morris Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-graves/) > [It is to aid in making the arts operative rather than only positively or negatively pleasurable... it is to paint a record, in so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-graves/it-is-to-aid-in-making-the-arts-operative-rather-than-only-positively/) [Morris Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-graves/) > [The artists of Asia have spiritually realized form, rather than aesthetically invented or imitated form, and from them I have learned that art and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-graves/the-artists-of-asia-have-spiritually-realized-form-rather-than/) [Morris Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-graves/) [Explore all 12 Morris Graves quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-graves/) ## 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": "An artist is a prophet and seer, not a paint craftsman or design maker, or reporter or entertainer... the artist has the superiorly searching perception with which that world outside of man's contamination can be penetrated and the truth drawn out from it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Morris Graves" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-graves/an-artist-is-a-prophet-and-seer-not-a-paint-craftsman-or-design-maker/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-graves/an-artist-is-a-prophet-and-seer-not-a-paint-craftsman-or-design-maker/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/morris-graves-37834_art_an-artist-is-a-prophet-and-seer-not-a-pa_2618586.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/morris-graves-37834_art_an-artist-is-a-prophet-and-seer-not-a-pa_2618586.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/520/morris-graves-37834_art_an-artist-is-a-prophet-and-seer-not-a-pa_2618586.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An artist is a prophet and seer, not a paint craftsman or design maker, or reporter or entertainer... the…” — Morris Graves", "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": "Morris Graves", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-graves/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An artist is a prophet and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-graves/an-artist-is-a-prophet-and-seer-not-a-paint-craftsman-or-design-maker/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-graves/an-artist-is-a-prophet-and-seer-not-a-paint-craftsman-or-design-maker/#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 } } ] } ```