The true use of art is to cultivate the artist’s own spiritual nature. — George Inness The 19th century American art movement known as Tonalism celebrated gentle tones, soft edges, atmosphere, and “the reality of the unseen.” Americans fell in love with it in the aftermath of the Civil...

To linger in the observation of things, other than the self, implies a profound conviction of their worth. — Charles-Damian Boulogne Painters never cease talking about value—how light or dark a color is, on the scale from white to black—but for everyone else the word's principal meaning is...