Thomas Eakins

“The big artist... is the man who has something to say and who has a passion to express it... and the medium he uses is a matter of indifference.”

“In a big picture you can see what o'clock it is, afternoon or morning, if it's hot or cold, winter or summer and what kind of people are there, and what they are doing, and why they are doing it.”

“Get the character of things. If you have the character, you have the detail.”

“My honors are misunderstanding, persecution, and neglect, enhanced because unsought.”

“The nude is the most beautiful thing to paint. It's the most challenging. There's no way you can fake it.”

“Respectability is the dickey on the bosom of civilization.”

“The artist who will use photography will kill the spirit of his work.”

“The brush is a more powerful and rapid tool than the point or the stump.”

“A muscle becomes a muscle because of the way it acts.”

“The big artist does not sit down monkey-like and copy a coal-scuttle or an old boot.”

“I believe the greatest artists are those who have the most to say.”