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Quote#Art

Shall the painter then.. ..decide upon painting? Shall he be the…

Quote byJames McNeill Whistler · 1834–1903

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: quote of Whistler, (1892) In: Gentle Art of making Enemies, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1922, p. 30.

English (original)

Shall the painter then.. ..decide upon painting? Shall he be the critic and sole authority? Aggressive as is this supposition, I fear that, in the length of time, his assertion alone has established what even the gentleman of the quill accept as the canons of art, and recognize as the masterpieces of work. Seurat's painting of the Grande Jatte proved extremely influential.

— James McNeill Whistler

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