Ernest Flagg on Art

“A master in art need not go into the highways and byways for affects; he knows the straight course and follows it. ...With dignity and simplicity come repose... the natural state of one at home in his surroundings and sure of his ground.”

“Reason...to suppose any production, worthy to be called a work of art, can be made without its use is foolish. ...By the use of reason many mistakes in design may be avoided and many counterfeits of art readily detected....Beauty alone is an excellent reason for many things, but when a design is in direct conflict with common sense it cannot be a work of art.”