“For a painter, the Mecca of the world, for study, for inspiration and for living is here on this star called Paris. Just look at it, no wonder so many artists have come here and called it home. Brother, if you can't paint in Paris, you'd better give up and marry the boss's daughter.”

“People wonder why so many writers come to live in Paris. I’ve been living ten years in Paris and the answer seems simple to me: because it’s the best place to pick ideas. Just like Italy, Spain.. or Iran are the best places to pick saffron. If you want to pick opium poppies you go to Burma or South-East Asia. And if you want to pick novel ideas, you go to Paris.”

“As an artist, a man has no home in Europe save in Paris.”

“There is but one Paris and however hard living may be here, and if it became worse and harder even—the French air clears up the brain and does good—a world of good.”

“To study in Paris is to be born in Paris!”

“Disorder in the house The doors are coming off the hinges The earth will open and swallow up the real estateI just got my paycheck I'm gonna paint the whole town grey Whether it's a night in Paris or a Fresno matinee It's the home of the brave and the land of the freeWhere the less you know the better off you'll be”