I'm afraid that quote is wrong. It's "OR" not "AND", and "houses" not "home." This is the real excerpt: "Believe me if we want art to begin at home, as it must, we must clear our houses of troublesome superfluities that are for ever in our way: conventional comforts that are no real comforts, and do but make work for servants and doctors: if you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: ‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful‘ And if we apply that rule strictly, we shall in the first place show the builders and such-like servants of the public what we really want, we shall create a demand for real art, as the phrase goes; and in the second place, we shall surely have more money to pay for decent houses."
by William Morris from The Beauty of Life (1880)part of Hopes and Fears for Art.
3 comments:
Good Morning Rosemary!!
Wonderful quote!!
Happy Friday!!
I have always loved that quote--a good one to keep in mind, always. I like the photo, too--the way the chair's arm swirls and the worn-off blue paint.
I'm afraid that quote is wrong. It's "OR" not "AND", and "houses" not "home." This is the real excerpt:
"Believe me if we want art to begin at home, as it must, we must clear our houses of troublesome superfluities that are for ever in our way: conventional comforts that are no real comforts, and do but make work for servants and doctors: if you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it:
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful‘
And if we apply that rule strictly, we shall in the first place show the builders and such-like servants of the public what we really want, we shall create a demand for real art, as the phrase goes; and in the second place, we shall surely have more money to pay for decent houses."
by William Morris from The Beauty of Life (1880)part of Hopes and Fears for Art.
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