--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A great artist ... takes what he did not…" description: "\"A great artist ... takes what he did not make and makes of it something that only he can make.\" — Stevie Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/stevie-smith-8661_art_a-great-artist-takes-what-he-did-not-mak_3184619.png" --- # A great artist ... takes what he did not make and makes of… ![“A great artist ... takes what he did not make and makes of it something that only he can make.” quote by Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/stevie-smith-8661_art_a-great-artist-takes-what-he-did-not-mak_3184619.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/stevie-smith-8661_art_a-great-artist-takes-what-he-did-not-mak_3184619.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/stevie-smith-8661_art_a-great-artist-takes-what-he-did-not-mak_3184619.png) > “A great artist ... takes what he did not make and makes of it something that only he can make.” [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An artist transforms existing material into something uniquely his own, creating original work from others' creations. **In simple terms:** Make others’ work uniquely yours. Key Takeaway Transform and personalize. Themes art originality influence Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - visual arts - music composition - literary adaptation - design projects Key Concepts appropriation innovation Questions to Reflect On - How do you credit sources? - What makes a transformation truly original? A Different Perspective Risk of plagiarism; ethical concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Great artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-artist/) ## Related quotes > [The great artist takes what he needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/the-great-artist-takes-what-he-needs/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [There is a choice you have to make in everything you do. So keep in mind that in the end, the choice you make,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-a-choice-you-have-to-make-in-everything-you-do-so-keep-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The choice you make, makes you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/the-choice-you-make-makes-you/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [Life is what you make not what it makes you...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julisnyps/life-is-what-you-make-not-what-it-makes-you/) Julisnyps > [Life is what YOU make of it, not what it makes out of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-avila/life-is-what-you-make-of-it-not-what-it-makes-out-of-you/) Tracey Avila > [The lives great artists live and the books they write are two very different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/the-lives-great-artists-live-and-the-books-they-write-are-two-very/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [One can be a great artist without being a great technician. There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) Fernando Bujones > [I cannot be convinced that great artists are moralists. Art is first appearances, then meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-cannot-be-convinced-that-great-artists-are-moralists-art-is-first/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [A great artist transforms our world, removes scales from our eyes, plugs from our ears, gloves from our fingertips, teaches us to perceive reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/a-great-artist-transforms-our-world-removes-scales-from-our-eyes/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [The great artists are those who impose their personal vision upon humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/the-great-artists-are-those-who-impose-their-personal-vision-upon/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [The bad artists imitate, the great artists steal,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banksy/the-bad-artists-imitate-the-great-artists-steal/) [Banksy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banksy/) > [It is frequently the tragedy of the great artist, as it is of the great scientist, that he frightens the ordinary man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/it-is-frequently-the-tragedy-of-the-great-artist-as-it-is-of-the/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [I think a great artist should be able to create any style, any form, anything from rock to pop to gospel to spiritual, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-think-a-great-artist-should-be-able-to-create-any-style-any-form/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [I really tried to work out hard to emulate the look and feel of the character, and did my best to represent the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-cudmore/i-really-tried-to-work-out-hard-to-emulate-the-look-and-feel-of-the/) [Daniel Cudmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-cudmore/) > [There are so many great artists, I think, who kind of suffer from being icons, legends, acknowledged masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/there-are-so-many-great-artists-i-think-who-kind-of-suffer-from-being/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) ## More by Stevie Smith > [I only asked my friends to be friendly and polite, I found them indifferent and censorious; The one I left to silence, the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/i-only-asked-my-friends-to-be-friendly-and-polite-i-found-them/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [Oh, no no no, it was too cold always (Still the dead one lay moaning) I was much too far out all my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/oh-no-no-no-it-was-too-cold-always-still-the-dead-one-lay-moaning-i/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [“Wild creatures' eyes, the colonel said, Are innocent and fathomless And when I look at them I see That they are not aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/wild-creatures-eyes-the-colonel-said-are-innocent-and-fathomless-and/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [“Raise from your bed of languor Raise from your bed of dismay Your friends will not come tomorrow As they did not come today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/raise-from-your-bed-of-languor-raise-from-your-bed-of-dismay-your/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [“There is a god in whom I do not believe Yet to this god my love stretches, This god whom I do not believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/there-is-a-god-in-whom-i-do-not-believe-yet-to-this-god-my-love/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [So I fancy my Muse says, when I wish to die, Oh no, Oh no, we are not yet friends enough, And Virtue also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/so-i-fancy-my-muse-says-when-i-wish-to-die-oh-no-oh-no-we-are-not-yet/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [If a lady comes up to you and tells you that your dear mama is lying in a faint on the pavement round the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/if-a-lady-comes-up-to-you-and-tells-you-that-your-dear-mama-is-lying/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [I like food, I like stripping vegetables of their skins, I like to have a slim young parsnip under my knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/i-like-food-i-like-stripping-vegetables-of-their-skins-i-like-to-have/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [Death's not a separation or alteration or parting; it's just a one-handled door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/death-s-not-a-separation-or-alteration-or-parting-it-s-just-a-one/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [The flower and fruit of love are mine The ant, the fieldmouse and the mole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/the-flower-and-fruit-of-love-are-mine-the-ant-the-fieldmouse-and-the/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [“Prate not to me of suicide, Faint heart in battle, not for pride I say Endure, but that such end denied Makes welcomer yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/prate-not-to-me-of-suicide-faint-heart-in-battle-not-for-pride-i-say/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [It is an amiable part of human nature, that we should love our animals; it is even better to love them to the point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/it-is-an-amiable-part-of-human-nature-that-we-should-love-our-animals/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [My Muse sits forlorn She wishes she had not been born She sits in the cold No word she says is ever told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/my-muse-sits-forlorn-she-wishes-she-had-not-been-born-she-sits-in-the/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [There are moments of despair that come sometimes, when night sets in and a white fog presses against the windows. Then our house changes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/there-are-moments-of-despair-that-come-sometimes-when-night-sets-in/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [Fourteen-year-old, why must you giggle and dote, Fourteen-year-old, why are you such a goat? I'm fourteen years old, that is the reason, I giggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/fourteen-year-old-why-must-you-giggle-and-dote-fourteen-year-old-why/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) [Explore all 79 Stevie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) ## 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": "A great artist ... takes what he did not make and makes of it something that only he can make.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stevie Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/a-great-artist-takes-what-he-did-not-make-and-makes-of-it-something/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/a-great-artist-takes-what-he-did-not-make-and-makes-of-it-something/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/stevie-smith-8661_art_a-great-artist-takes-what-he-did-not-mak_3184619.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/stevie-smith-8661_art_a-great-artist-takes-what-he-did-not-mak_3184619.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dba/stevie-smith-8661_art_a-great-artist-takes-what-he-did-not-mak_3184619.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A great artist ... takes what he did not make and makes of it something that only he can make.” — Stevie Smith", "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": "Stevie Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A great artist ... takes what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/a-great-artist-takes-what-he-did-not-make-and-makes-of-it-something/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/a-great-artist-takes-what-he-did-not-make-and-makes-of-it-something/#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 } } ] } ```