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 WhistlerIndustry in art is a necessity - not a virtue - and any evidence of the same, in the production, is a blemish, not a quality; a proof, not of achievement, but of absolutely insufficient work, for work alone will efface the footsteps of work.
James WhistlerYou 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