
“An artist is always alone - if he is an artist. No, what the artist needs is loneliness.”
Source: Tropic of Cancer
Source: Civilisation (1969), Ch. 5: The Hero as Artist
“An artist is always alone - if he is an artist. No, what the artist needs is loneliness.”
Source: Tropic of Cancer
“No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.”
The Decay of Lying (1889)
"Literary Portraits. VIII - Mr. Joseph Conrad," in The Tribune (1907-09-14)
“With great power comes a great need to take a nap.”
Variant: With great power... comes need to take a nap. Wake me up later
Source: The Last Olympian
Journal entry (7 July 1980); published in Time Within Time: The Diaries 1970-1986 (1989)
Die Kunst an und für sich selbst ist edel; deßhalb fürchtet sich der Künstler nicht vor dem Gemeinen. Ja indem er es aufnimmt, ist es schon geadelt, und so sehen wir die größten Künstler mit Kühnheit ihr Majestätsrecht ausüben.
Maxim 61, trans. Stopp
Maxims and Reflections (1833)
Inarticulate Touches
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler (1912), Part IX - A Painter's Views on Painting