“In our fine arts, not imitation, but creation is the aim. In landscapes the painter should give the suggestion of a fairer creation than we know. The details, the prose of nature, he should omit, and give us only the spirit and splendor. In a portrait he must inscribe the character, and not the features, and must esteem the man who sits to him as himself only an imperfect picture of the aspiring original within.”

“I am just beginning to understand what it is to paint. A painter should have two lives, one in which to learn, and one in which to practice his art.”