--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would rather fail as an artist than…" description: "\"“I would rather fail as an artist than succeed as anything else.”\" — Robert Dowling" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/robert-dowling-273397_art_i-would-rather-fail-as-an-artist-than-su_2046055.jpg" --- # I would rather fail as an artist than succeed as anything… ![“I would rather fail as an artist than succeed as anything else.” quote by Robert Dowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/robert-dowling-273397_art_i-would-rather-fail-as-an-artist-than-su_2046055.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/robert-dowling-273397_art_i-would-rather-fail-as-an-artist-than-su_2046055.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/robert-dowling-273397_art_i-would-rather-fail-as-an-artist-than-su_2046055.jpg) > ““I would rather fail as an artist than succeed as anything else.”” Robert Dowling ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prefers artistic failure over succeeding in unrelated fields. **In simple terms:** Artistic integrity over success. Key Takeaway Choose authentic passion. Themes art failure authenticity creativity Mood reflective determined Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - artistic pursuits - commercial work - education Key Concepts career choice personal fulfillment Questions to Reflect On - What does success mean to you? - Can you blend art with other goals? A Different Perspective Success may bring security. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [I learned that instead of relying on and imitating American music, there is a better chance for an Asian artist to succeed if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rain/i-learned-that-instead-of-relying-on-and-imitating-american-music/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rain/) > [A true artist could and should create till the day they die. You don't ever fail as an artist until you quit being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-keiber/a-true-artist-could-and-should-create-till-the-day-they-die-you-don-t/) Christian Keiber > [My willingness to fail gives me the ability to succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-khosla/my-willingness-to-fail-gives-me-the-ability-to-succeed/) [Vinod Khosla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinod-khosla/) > [If you're having trouble succeeding, fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/if-you-re-having-trouble-succeeding-fail/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [“Life is an experiment in which you may fail or succeed. Explore more, expect least.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/life-is-an-experiment-in-which-you-may-fail-or-succeed-explore-more/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [No child wants to fail. Everyone wants to succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-green/no-child-wants-to-fail-everyone-wants-to-succeed/) [Al Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-green/) > [Companies don't succeed, people do. Companies don't fail, people do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nabil-n-jamal/companies-don-t-succeed-people-do-companies-don-t-fail-people-do/) [Nabil N Jamal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nabil-n-jamal/) > [When you fail to succeed the first time, keep trying. It's called life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cranch-bond/when-you-fail-to-succeed-the-first-time-keep-trying-it-s-called-life/) [William Cranch Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cranch-bond/) > [I think it's an essential fact for any performer or artist to fail as poignantly as they can succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/i-think-it-s-an-essential-fact-for-any-performer-or-artist-to-fail-as/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [You have to fail, man, but you cannot allow failure to stop you from doing what you must do. Failing is just as good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-smoove/you-have-to-fail-man-but-you-cannot-allow-failure-to-stop-you-from/) [J. B. Smoove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-smoove/) > [“You stay safe, You love. You survive. You laugh and cry and struggle and sometimes you fail and sometimes you succeed. You Push.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-ryan/you-stay-safe-you-love-you-survive-you-laugh-and-cry-and-struggle-and/) [Carrie Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-ryan/) > [To succeed you must be willing to fail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-baruzzini/to-succeed-you-must-be-willing-to-fail/) Mark Baruzzini > [If I succeed in business but fail as a father, then I've failed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-wahlberg/if-i-succeed-in-business-but-fail-as-a-father-then-i-ve-failed/) [Mark Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-wahlberg/) > [How to succeed: Try hard enough. How to fail: Try too hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-s-forbes/how-to-succeed-try-hard-enough-how-to-fail-try-too-hard/) Malcolm S Forbes > [When I try, I fail. When I trust, He succeeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrie-ten-boom/when-i-try-i-fail-when-i-trust-he-succeeds/) [Corrie Ten Boom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrie-ten-boom/) ## 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": "“I would rather fail as an artist than succeed as anything else.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Dowling" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dowling/i-would-rather-fail-as-an-artist-than-succeed-as-anything-else/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dowling/i-would-rather-fail-as-an-artist-than-succeed-as-anything-else/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/robert-dowling-273397_art_i-would-rather-fail-as-an-artist-than-su_2046055.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/robert-dowling-273397_art_i-would-rather-fail-as-an-artist-than-su_2046055.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/262/robert-dowling-273397_art_i-would-rather-fail-as-an-artist-than-su_2046055.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I would rather fail as an artist than succeed as anything else.” — Robert Dowling", "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": "Robert Dowling", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dowling/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I would rather fail as an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dowling/i-would-rather-fail-as-an-artist-than-succeed-as-anything-else/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dowling/i-would-rather-fail-as-an-artist-than-succeed-as-anything-else/#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 } } ] } ```