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The idea of taking up art as a calling, a profession, is a mirage. Art enriches life. It makes life worth living. But to make a living at it—that idea is incompatible with making art.

— John Sloan The Gist of Art (1939)

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More quotes by John Sloan

It takes a great deal of strong personality to survive the art school training. Hard nuts that the art schools can't crack and devour get through and become artists.

The Gist of Art (1939)

I have nothing to teach you that will help you to make a living. [as art teacher, advising his students]

[choosing his scenes by:] ..night vigils at the back window.

The Gist of Art (1939)

[on w:Diego Rivera:] ..the one artist on this continent who is in the class of the old masters.

People who take things too literally don't get much of anything from my teaching. By never saying anything I mean, I say a great deal. I never mean anything I say under oath. I never mean exactly what I say. Not even this. You have to read between the words.

The Gist of Art (1939)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: John Sloan (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.