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

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Source: In: Loughery, John. John Sloan: Painter and Rebel. New York: Henry Holt, 1995. ISBN 0-8050-5221-6, pp. 224-225
Source quality: Precise citation Points to a specific work with a page, chapter, date or similar locator, so you can look it up.

More by John Sloan

Then there is this idea that the world owes you a living. Here is a little thought about that. It isn't particularly logical but it makes my point. You were paid when you were born, with the privilege of living. Death is all that is coming to you. Life came to you when you were born.

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)

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.

The Gist of Art (1939)

[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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