This book brings together more than a thousand quotations from artists on fifty-seven subjects ranging from creativity to solitude, technique to talent.

The editor of this collection has taken care to arrange the quotations to create a sort of ongoing dialogue among the 207 artists represented. Artists and art lovers will find a wealth of delightful, witty, wise, thought-provoking, and inspiring words from Old Masters like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Titian; Impressionists such as Monet, Degas, Renoir, Matisse, and van Gogh; and modern masters from Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore to Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg.

The book is arranged alphabetically by subject, and an index helps readers find quotes by individual artists. Enhancing the book’s visual appeal are 18 black-and-white art works by some of the artists quoted, paired with apt quotations ranging from solemn to irreverent.