To say of a picture, as is often said in its praise, that it shows great and earnest labour, is to say that it is incomplete and unfit for view. – James Whistler
The vast majority of English folk cannot and will not consider a picture as a picture, apart from any story which it may be supposed to tell. – James Whistler
You should not say it is not good. You should say you do not like it; and then, you know, you’re perfectly safe. – James Whistler
I can’t tell you if genius is hereditary, because heaven has granted me no offspring. – James Whistler
To say to the painter that Nature is to be taken as she is, is to say to the player that he may sit on the piano. – James Whistler
You shouldn’t say it is not good. You should say, you do not like it; and then, you know, you’re perfectly safe. – James Whistler
I maintain that two and two would continue to make four, in spite of the whine of the amateur for three, or the cry of the critic for five. – James Whistler
