“Anything that is not necessary to the painting damages it." Henri Matisse”

“Without hard work, talent is not enough - Henri Matisse”

“You were a painting by Matisse, but you took sleeping pills.”

“If there is some red spot on one of my paintings it is unlikely to be the heart of the work. The painting was done regardless of it. You could remove the red and still the painting would be there. But in Matisse's work it is inconceivable that you could remove a spot of red, no matter how small without the entire painting instantly collapsing.' Pablo Picasso”

“The Matisse seemed to respond to the decreasing light by increasing its own wattage. Every object in the room was drained of color, but the Matisse stood firm in the de-escalating illumination, its beauty turning functionality inside out, making itself a more practical and useful presence than anything else in sight.”

“This is less teaching than damage control. You may as well paint a house that’s on fire.”