Oscar Wilde Quotes

Is an artist much more than a beggar?

The rich make you famous; the poor make you a hero.

My privilege as a celebrity doesn't disallow me pain.

I was poor. I struggled big time, living hand to mouth so I could be the kind of artist I want to be.

The man who ain't got an enemy is really poor.

Artists are on the average less happy than men of science.

I went to Havana, and I was like, "Wow, there's culture everywhere!" That was one thing that I did notice when I went to Cuba was that artists are paid to be artists, and poets are paid to be poets, and musicians are paid to be musicians by the government. The government - and I'm not saying that the Cuban government's perfect - but the government does place a value on culture.

Writing, acting, music, comedy. A deep love of literature and books. Thank God for all the artists who've helped me.

As struggles go, being an artist isn't that much of one.

On radio, you're an artist. On TV, you're a servant.

People see me as pretty low key in a lot of ways. And for me, like, even choosing to be John Legend and to be who I am as a star, as an artist, it's a risk 'cause I - you know, I graduated from college and worked as a management consultant, and I could have had this very kind of buttoned-up life and worn suits to work every day.

If you show up in L.A. with your shirt inside out or socks mismatched, people start putting change in your cup.

My esteem in this country has gone up substantially. It is very nice now when people wave at me, they use all their fingers.

Farmers are respectable and interesting to me in proportion as they are poor.

A poor relation—is the most irrelevant thing in nature.

Artists love other artists. Shadow artists are gravitating to their rightful tribe but cannot yet claim their birthright. Very often audacity, not talent, makes one person an artist and another a shadow artist-hiding in the shadows, afraid to step out and expose the dream to the light, fearful that it will disintegrate to the touch.

Nobody would watch Lifestyles of the Poor and the Unknown.

The lives great artists live and the books they write are two very different things.

Do not leave your reputation to chance or gossip; it is your life's artwork, and you must craft it, hone it, and display it with the care of an artist.

I think it's much more interesting when people say, "I love being famous. I love the attention and getting laid and having people I respect admire me," than when they pretend it hasn't had an effect on them.

Let me tell you now a man of my position can afford to look ridiculous at any time.

A citizen sticks to conventions, does whatever is social. Artists, of course, must reject all conventions. I see no differently in reconciling the best of both of these worlds.

The artists who want to be writers, read the reviews; the artists who want to write, don't.

It's frightening for one artist to see another one, any other one turn away from art.

I know the struggles of poor people, and have always kept that with me.