The masterpiece should appear as the flower to the painter - perfect in its bud as in its bloom - with no reason to explain its presence - no mission to fulfill - a joy to the artist, a delusion to the philanthropist - a puzzle to the botanist - an accident of sentiment and alliteration to the literary man.

It is for the artist... in portrait painting to put on canvas something more than the face the model wears for that one day; to paint the man, in short, as well as his features.

If silicon had been a gas I should have been a major-general.

You shouldn't say it is not good. You should say, you do not like it; and then, you know, you're perfectly safe.

I can't tell you if genius is hereditary, because heaven has granted me no offspring.

I always ask at once, 'Do you drink?' and if she says 'No,' I bow politely and say I am sorry but I fear she will not suit. All good cooks drink.

A picture is finished when all trace of the means used to bring about the end has disappeared.