“To make rhymeless lines read like a poem is the most laborious task a songsmith can set himself.”

Defending technical difficulty as artistic choice · Instead of a Preface, My Rubaiyat

• Craft
• Poetry
• Writing

“These commercial travellers of art will never know the painter's pure delight, the contemplation of life, the aspiration to perfection, the lifting of beauty out of the dead pigment.”

Contrasting commerce with contemplative craft · The Whistler Book

• Art
• Beauty
• Commerce

“Biographical data do not interest me. What is the difference where a man is born, how old he is, where he studied, and where he was medaled? His art must speak—that is all I care for.”

Judging work over pedigree · Art criticism

• Art
• Biography
• Merit