Robert Henri- At Far Rockaway
The man who has honesty, integrity, the love of inquiry, the desire to see beyond, is ready to appreciate good art. He needs no one to give him an ‘Art Education’; he is already qualified. He needs but to see pictures with his active mind, look into them for the things that belong to him, and he will find soon enough in himself an art connoisseur and an art lover of the first order.
-Robert Henri
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A lot of people over the years have made my work their first art purchase which pleases me greatly because I know how difficult it is to make that first decision to spend hard-earned money on a piece of art. It is tremendously gratifying to me as an artist to have that person find something in the work that belongs to them that allows them to overcome the fear of buying art.
And there is a fear in buying art. Or even showing one’s appreciation of it.
I hear it all the time from people who come up to me in galleries and say that they know nothing about art, some who are very powerful people who move through the world with a supreme air of confidence about them. They are often afraid of making a mistake that will reveal their lack of knowledge about art.
My first response is to tell them that they don’t have to know anything about art. They don’t need a wide knowledge of art history or contemporary art. They only need to first trust their eyes and their emotional response to a piece of work. No amount of persuasion can make you like those things that don’t stir your emotions.
Ultimately, you like what you like– work that speaks to who you are at your core. And that is the first requirement and rule for any lover of art, whether you collect or simply enjoy taking in the images when you come across them.
Redtree Times 