--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a poor artist who borrows--a good…" description: "\"It's a poor artist who borrows--a good artist steals.\" — Pablo Picasso" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/pablo-picasso-552_art_it-s-a-poor-artist-who-borrows-a-good-ar_2611560.jpg" --- # It's a poor artist who borrows--a good artist steals. ![“It's a poor artist who borrows--a good artist steals.” quote by Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/pablo-picasso-552_art_it-s-a-poor-artist-who-borrows-a-good-ar_2611560.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/pablo-picasso-552_art_it-s-a-poor-artist-who-borrows-a-good-ar_2611560.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/pablo-picasso-552_art_it-s-a-poor-artist-who-borrows-a-good-ar_2611560.jpg) > “It's a poor artist who borrows--a good artist steals.” [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A poor artist copies; a good artist steals ideas. **In simple terms:** Great artists transform influences into something new. Key Takeaway Seek inspiration and make it uniquely yours. Themes creativity originality influence Mood provocative instructive Type artistic ethical When to use this quote - design projects - musical sampling - literary pastiche Key Concepts artistic appropriation innovation Questions to Reflect On - What boundaries define theft vs. inspiration? - How do you credit sources ethically? A Different Perspective Legal issues can arise from uncredited borrowing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Good art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-art/) ## Related quotes > [“A plagiarist steals from one person. A true artist steals from everybody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/a-plagiarist-steals-from-one-person-a-true-artist-steals-from/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The immature artist imitates. The mature artist steals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/the-immature-artist-imitates-the-mature-artist-steals/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [If you're just starting off as an artist, steal as much inspiration from everything you like, as much as you can. Take from books,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukimi-nagano/if-you-re-just-starting-off-as-an-artist-steal-as-much-inspiration/) [Yukimi Nagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukimi-nagano/) > [I'm a poor artist. Through brute force, I brought myself up to mediocre. I've never taken a writing class, but I can write okay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/i-m-a-poor-artist-through-brute-force-i-brought-myself-up-to-mediocre/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [Poor artist! You gave away part of your soul when you painted the picture which you are now trying to dispose of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/poor-artist-you-gave-away-part-of-your-soul-when-you-painted-the/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [Everything that would begin to make somebody a good student would tend to make him or her a poor artist, and vice versa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/everything-that-would-begin-to-make-somebody-a-good-student-would/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [Joy steals upon me, such joy as calls forth tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/joy-steals-upon-me-such-joy-as-calls-forth-tears/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls: Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/good-name-in-man-and-woman-dear-my-lord-is-the-immediate-jewel-of/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An entrepreneur is someone that steals office supplies from home and brings them to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auren-hoffman/an-entrepreneur-is-someone-that-steals-office-supplies-from-home-and/) [Auren Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auren-hoffman/) > [“Why does a steward steal? He steals because he's not sure he'll always remain with his master and wants to make his future secure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/why-does-a-steward-steal-he-steals-because-he-s-not-sure-he-ll-always/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [Rondo is great with the steals, also on offense with the passing and court vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javale-mcgee/rondo-is-great-with-the-steals-also-on-offense-with-the-passing-and/) [JaVale McGee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javale-mcgee/) > [The big artist .. . keeps a sharp eye on Nature and steals her tools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-eakins/the-big-artist-keeps-a-sharp-eye-on-nature-and-steals-her-tools/) [Thomas Eakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-eakins/) > [He who steals a little steals with the same wish as he who steals much, but with less power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-who-steals-a-little-steals-with-the-same-wish-as-he-who-steals/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“He who lies and steals ...and forms a government.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/he-who-lies-and-steals-and-forms-a-government/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) > [Sometimes opportunity knocks, but most of the time it sneaks up and then quietly steals away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-larson/sometimes-opportunity-knocks-but-most-of-the-time-it-sneaks-up-and/) [Doug Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-larson/) ## More by Pablo Picasso > [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/) > [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [By amusing myself with all these games, all this nonsense, all these picture puzzles, I became famous... I am only a public entertainer who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/by-amusing-myself-with-all-these-games-all-this-nonsense-all-these/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [If I paint a hammer and sickle people may think it is a representation of Communism, but for me it is only a hammer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/if-i-paint-a-hammer-and-sickle-people-may-think-it-is-a/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [One never knows what one is going to do. One starts a painting and then it becomes something quite different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/one-never-knows-what-one-is-going-to-do-one-starts-a-painting-and/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Now there is fame! Of all - hunger, misery, the incomprehension by the public - fame is by far the worst. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/now-there-is-fame-of-all-hunger-misery-the-incomprehension-by-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [It takes a long time to become young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-takes-a-long-time-to-become-young/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth at least the truth that is given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/we-all-know-that-art-is-not-truth-art-is-a-lie-that-makes-us-realize/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [You see these thick curtains shut out the daylight: artificial light suits me a great deal better; it's absolutely steady, and much more exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/you-see-these-thick-curtains-shut-out-the-daylight-artificial-light/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The best calculation is the absence of calculation. Once you have attained a certain level of recognition, others generally figure that when you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-best-calculation-is-the-absence-of-calculation-once-you-have/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Action is the foundational key to all success. --Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/action-is-the-foundational-key-to-all-success-pablo-picasso/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The earth doesn't have a housekeeper to do the dusting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-earth-doesn-t-have-a-housekeeper-to-do-the-dusting/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/god-is-really-only-another-artist-he-invented-the-giraffe-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/a-baby-will-make-love-stronger-days-shorter-nights-longer-bankroll/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Explore all 477 Pablo Picasso quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## 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": "It's a poor artist who borrows--a good artist steals.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pablo Picasso" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-s-a-poor-artist-who-borrows-a-good-artist-steals/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-s-a-poor-artist-who-borrows-a-good-artist-steals/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/pablo-picasso-552_art_it-s-a-poor-artist-who-borrows-a-good-ar_2611560.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/pablo-picasso-552_art_it-s-a-poor-artist-who-borrows-a-good-ar_2611560.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/480/pablo-picasso-552_art_it-s-a-poor-artist-who-borrows-a-good-ar_2611560.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's a poor artist who borrows--a good artist steals.” — Pablo Picasso", "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": "Pablo Picasso", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's a poor artist who borrows--a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-s-a-poor-artist-who-borrows-a-good-artist-steals/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-s-a-poor-artist-who-borrows-a-good-artist-steals/#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 } } ] } ```