--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Picasso Good authors copy, great artists…" description: "\"“Picasso Good authors copy, great artists steal\"-Picassco”\" — Walter Isaacson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a6/walter-isaacson-384_picasso_picasso-good-authors-copy-great-artists_836564.png" --- # Picasso Good authors copy, great artists steal"-Picassco ![“Picasso Good authors copy, great artists steal"-Picassco” quote by Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a6/walter-isaacson-384_picasso_picasso-good-authors-copy-great-artists_836564.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a6/walter-isaacson-384_picasso_picasso-good-authors-copy-great-artists_836564.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a6/walter-isaacson-384_picasso_picasso-good-authors-copy-great-artists_836564.png) > ““Picasso Good authors copy, great artists steal"-Picassco”” [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that great artists appropriate ideas boldly, distinguishing them from mere copying. **In simple terms:** Great artists boldly appropriate ideas. Key Takeaway Embrace bold creativity. Themes creativity originality influence Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - design work - creative writing Key Concepts artistic appropriation intellectual property Questions to Reflect On - What is the line between inspiration and theft? - How do you credit sources? A Different Perspective Risk of plagiarism accusations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artists Steal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artists-steal/) [Great Artists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-artists/) ## Related quotes > [“Picasso said “good artists copy but great artists steal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-patrick/picasso-said-good-artists-copy-but-great-artists-steal/) [Sean Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-patrick/) > [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/) > [“As Pablo Picasso (no slouch at theft himself) put it, “Good artists borrow. Great artists steal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-coyle/as-pablo-picasso-no-slouch-at-theft-himself-put-it-good-artists/) [Daniel Coyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-coyle/) > [Art is theft”) and Igor Stravinsky (“Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal”), I’ve always stolen from the people I admire – not plagiarized, mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/art-is-theft-and-igor-stravinsky-lesser-artists-borrow-great-artists/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [Ultimately, it comes down to taste. It comes down to trying to expose yourself to the best things that humans have done and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/ultimately-it-comes-down-to-taste-it-comes-down-to-trying-to-expose/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [I steal from every single movie ever made. I love it - if my work has anything it's that I'm taking this from this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/i-steal-from-every-single-movie-ever-made-i-love-it-if-my-work-has/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/igor-stravinsky/lesser-artists-borrow-great-artists-steal/) [Igor Stravinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/igor-stravinsky/) > [Good artists copy, great artists steal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/good-artists-copy-great-artists-steal/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [There's no such thing as a bad Picasso, but some are less good than others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-picasso-but-some-are-less-good-than/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [“You know what Picasso says. ‘Bad artists copy, good artists steal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/you-know-what-picasso-says-bad-artists-copy-good-artists-steal/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [No theoretician, no writer on art, however interesting he or she might be, could be as interesting as Picasso. A good writer on art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/no-theoretician-no-writer-on-art-however-interesting-he-or-she-might/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Picasso had a saying - 'good artists copy, great artists steal' - and we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/picasso-had-a-saying-good-artists-copy-great-artists-steal-and-we/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [Artists everywhere steal mercilessly all the time and I think this is healthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/artists-everywhere-steal-mercilessly-all-the-time-and-i-think-this-is/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [Immature artists imitate. Mature artists steal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/immature-artists-imitate-mature-artists-steal/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [Bad artists copy. Good artists steal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/bad-artists-copy-good-artists-steal/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## More by Walter Isaacson > [“he never finished any of the works he began because, so sublime was his idea of art, he saw faults even in the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/he-never-finished-any-of-the-works-he-began-because-so-sublime-was/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [He had the attitude that he could do anything, and therefore so can you. He put his life in my hands. 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He would set priorities, aim his laser attention on them, and filter out distractions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/jobs-s-intensity-was-also-evident-in-his-ability-to-focus-he-would/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Atop the brochure McKenna put a maxim, often attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, that would become the defining precept of Jobs’s design philosophy: “Simplicity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/atop-the-brochure-mckenna-put-a-maxim-often-attributed-to-leonardo-da/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“The company began attracting influential new investors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-company-began-attracting-influential-new-investors/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“You have to remain critically vigilant.” Question every premise, challenge conventional wisdom, and never accept the truth of something merely because everyone else views…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/you-have-to-remain-critically-vigilant-question-every-premise/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“in 1996, bought NeXT, bringing Jobs back. BILL ATKINSON. Early Apple employee, developed graphics for the Macintosh. CHRISANN BRENNAN. Jobs’s girlfriend at Homestead High,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/in-1996-bought-next-bringing-jobs-back-bill-atkinson-early-apple/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“The last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-last-time-there-was-this-much-excitement-about-a-tablet-it-had/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much. 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They were picked based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/once-a-year-jobs-took-his-most-valuable-employees-on-a-retreat-which/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“An object will display the greatest difference of light and shade when it is seen in the strongest light. . . . But this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/an-object-will-display-the-greatest-difference-of-light-and-shade/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) [Explore all 593 Walter Isaacson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) ## More Picasso quotes > [“Where visual artists are concerned, the Baroque sculptor and architect Bernini and the painter and sculptor Picasso were clearly adept at both experiential and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-gallagher/where-visual-artists-are-concerned-the-baroque-sculptor-and-architect/) [Winifred Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-gallagher/) > [Somebody was saying to Picasso that he ought to make pictures of things the way they are-objective pictures. He mumbled that he wasn't quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/somebody-was-saying-to-picasso-that-he-ought-to-make-pictures-of/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [“It's like art, you know? Picasso had to prove to the world he can paint the right way, before he goes putting both eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/it-s-like-art-you-know-picasso-had-to-prove-to-the-world-he-can-paint/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [“There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality. —Pablo Picasso”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-b-burger/there-is-no-abstract-art-you-must-always-start-with-something/) [Edward B. Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-b-burger/) > [People say, 'Oh, to be the daughter of Picasso!' But it's not as extravagant as it seems. He was very special, very vibrant, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paloma-picasso/people-say-oh-to-be-the-daughter-of-picasso-but-it-s-not-as/) [Paloma Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paloma-picasso/) > [If they were starting their careers today, Rockwell and Picasso would probably both be painting on black velvet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-holland/if-they-were-starting-their-careers-today-rockwell-and-picasso-would/) [Brad Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-holland/) > [Picasso said that no one has to explain a daffodil. Good design is understandable to virtually everybody. You never have to ask why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-newell-jacobsen/picasso-said-that-no-one-has-to-explain-a-daffodil-good-design-is/) [Hugh Newell Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-newell-jacobsen/) > [Computers let people avoid people, going out to explore. It's so different to just open a website instead of looking at a Picasso in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raf-simons/computers-let-people-avoid-people-going-out-to-explore-it-s-so/) [Raf Simons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raf-simons/) > [If I were writing about Picasso and pointed out that he painted women because he was interested in the female form, that would seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-solomon/if-i-were-writing-about-picasso-and-pointed-out-that-he-painted-women/) [Deborah Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-solomon/) > [Picasso has been my inspiration, expressing himself in a hundred different ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lyn-nelson/picasso-has-been-my-inspiration-expressing-himself-in-a-hundred/) [Robert Lyn Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lyn-nelson/) > [I think Picasso was, without doubt, the greatest portraitist of the 20th century, if not any other century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-think-picasso-was-without-doubt-the-greatest-portraitist-of-the/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I don't write for a particular audience. I work as an artist, and I think the audience of one, which is the self, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-don-t-write-for-a-particular-audience-i-work-as-an-artist-and-i/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [If Picasso drips, I drip... For a long while I was with Cezanne, and now I am with Picasso.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arshile-gorky/if-picasso-drips-i-drip-for-a-long-while-i-was-with-cezanne-and-now-i/) [Arshile Gorky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arshile-gorky/) > [I never met Publo Picasso. I took pictures at the Festival d'Avignon, but I was too shy to ask to go in his studio.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-never-met-publo-picasso-i-took-pictures-at-the-festival-d-avignon/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [The peasant finds no "natural" urgency within himself that will drive him toward Picasso in spite of all difficulties. In the end the peasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/the-peasant-finds-no-natural-urgency-within-himself-that-will-drive/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) Browse all 215 Picasso quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Picasso Good authors copy, great artists steal\"-Picassco”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walter Isaacson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/picasso-good-authors-copy-great-artists-steal-picassco/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Picasso" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/picasso-good-authors-copy-great-artists-steal-picassco/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a6/walter-isaacson-384_picasso_picasso-good-authors-copy-great-artists_836564.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a6/walter-isaacson-384_picasso_picasso-good-authors-copy-great-artists_836564.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a6/walter-isaacson-384_picasso_picasso-good-authors-copy-great-artists_836564.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Picasso Good authors copy, great artists steal\"-Picassco” — Walter Isaacson", "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": "Walter Isaacson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Picasso Good authors copy, great artists...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/picasso-good-authors-copy-great-artists-steal-picassco/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/picasso-good-authors-copy-great-artists-steal-picassco/#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 } } ] } ```