--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An artist must have imagination. An…" description: "\"An artist must have imagination. An artist who does not use his imagination is a mechanic.\" — Robert Henri" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/robert-henri-1803_art_an-artist-must-have-imagination-an-artis_833538.png" --- # An artist must have imagination. An artist who does not… ![“An artist must have imagination. An artist who does not use his imagination is a mechanic.” quote by Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/robert-henri-1803_art_an-artist-must-have-imagination-an-artis_833538.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/robert-henri-1803_art_an-artist-must-have-imagination-an-artis_833538.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/robert-henri-1803_art_an-artist-must-have-imagination-an-artis_833538.png) > “An artist must have imagination. An artist who does not use his imagination is a mechanic.” [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagination is essential; without it, creation becomes mechanical and uninspired. **In simple terms:** Imagination fuels true art. Key Takeaway Cultivate imagination daily. Themes creativity artistic integrity innovation Mood inspired curious Type artistic motivational When to use this quote - painting - writing - design - problem solving Key Concepts aesthetics psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance imagination and technique? - When does imagination become escapism? A Different Perspective Overreliance on imagination can neglect technical skill. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Mechanic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mechanic/) ## Related quotes > [The real truthfulness of all works of imagination, sculpture, painting, and written fiction, is so purely in the imagination, that the artist never seeks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-truthfulness-of-all-works-of-imagination-sculpture-painting/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I can create my imagination because i am an Artist.!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manish-suthar/i-can-create-my-imagination-because-i-am-an-artist/) Manish Suthar > [A picture is first of all a product of the imagination of the artist; it must never be a copy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/a-picture-is-first-of-all-a-product-of-the-imagination-of-the-artist/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [A director is a man, therefore he has ideas; he is also an artist, therefore he has imagination. Whether they are good or bad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/a-director-is-a-man-therefore-he-has-ideas-he-is-also-an-artist/) [Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/) > [An artist’s imagination is his greatest tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/an-artist-s-imagination-is-his-greatest-tool/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [To get such beauty from something that has been produced from the artist's own imagination appealed to me enormously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-r-guggenheim/to-get-such-beauty-from-something-that-has-been-produced-from-the/) Solomon R. Guggenheim > [A picture is first of all a product of the artist's imagination, it must never be a copy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/a-picture-is-first-of-all-a-product-of-the-artist-s-imagination-it/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [“It always surprises me when people assume that something an artist has created is based on a true experience or reflects his or her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/it-always-surprises-me-when-people-assume-that-something-an-artist/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [The artist's imagination may wander far from nature. But as long as it is a living, moving power in his brain, isn't it just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/the-artist-s-imagination-may-wander-far-from-nature-but-as-long-as-it/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [A painting is above all a product of the artist's imagination, it must never be a copy. If, at a later stage, he wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/a-painting-is-above-all-a-product-of-the-artist-s-imagination-it-must/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [“As an artist, her imagination isn't fettered by the constraints of reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-cross/as-an-artist-her-imagination-isn-t-fettered-by-the-constraints-of/) [Sarah Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-cross/) > [An artist does his most difficult work when he steps back from the blank canvas and thinks about what he is going to create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/an-artist-does-his-most-difficult-work-when-he-steps-back-from-the/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [Art is what we call...the thing an artist does. It's not the medium or the oil or the price or whether it hangs on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/art-is-what-we-call-the-thing-an-artist-does-it-s-not-the-medium-or/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Only a bad artist thinks he has a good idea. A good artist does not need anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/only-a-bad-artist-thinks-he-has-a-good-idea-a-good-artist-does-not/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [Society takes what it wants. The artist himself does not count, because there is no actual existence for the work of art. The work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/society-takes-what-it-wants-the-artist-himself-does-not-count-because/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) ## More by Robert Henri > [It is the common defect of modern art study. Too many students do not know why they draw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/it-is-the-common-defect-of-modern-art-study-too-many-students-do-not/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Your only hope of satisfying others is in satisfying yourself. I speak of a great satisfaction, not a commercial satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/your-only-hope-of-satisfying-others-is-in-satisfying-yourself-i-speak/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Keep a bad drawing until by study you have found out why it is bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/keep-a-bad-drawing-until-by-study-you-have-found-out-why-it-is-bad/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Self-education only produces expressions of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/self-education-only-produces-expressions-of-self/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Genius is not a possession of the limited few, but exists in some degree in everyone. Where there is natural growth, a full and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/genius-is-not-a-possession-of-the-limited-few-but-exists-in-some/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Your painting is the marking of your progression into nature, a sensation of something you see way beyond the two pretty colors over there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/your-painting-is-the-marking-of-your-progression-into-nature-a/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [The sketch hunter moves through life as he finds it, not passing negligently the things he loves, but stopping to know them, and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/the-sketch-hunter-moves-through-life-as-he-finds-it-not-passing/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [There are pictures that manifest education and there are pictures that manifest love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/there-are-pictures-that-manifest-education-and-there-are-pictures/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [I am interested in the size of your intention. It is better to overstate the important than to understate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/i-am-interested-in-the-size-of-your-intention-it-is-better-to/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [“We will be happy if we can get around to the idea that art is not an outside and extra thing; that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/we-will-be-happy-if-we-can-get-around-to-the-idea-that-art-is-not-an/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [“It beats all the things that wealth can give and everything else in the world to say the things one believes, to put them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/it-beats-all-the-things-that-wealth-can-give-and-everything-else-in/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [“A GREAT PAINTER will know a great deal about how he did it, but still he will say, “How did I do it?” The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/a-great-painter-will-know-a-great-deal-about-how-he-did-it-but-still/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [“Concentrate on a single feature – as, build all toward one eye – make all lines lead toward that eye. (Robert Henri)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/concentrate-on-a-single-feature-as-build-all-toward-one-eye-make-all/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Good composition is like a suspension bridge - each line adds strength and takes none away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/good-composition-is-like-a-suspension-bridge-each-line-adds-strength/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Cherish your own emotions and never undervalue them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/cherish-your-own-emotions-and-never-undervalue-them/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) [Explore all 207 Robert Henri quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) ## 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 must have imagination. 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