Quote Origin: Those Who Do Not Want To Imitate Anything, Produce Nothing

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Salvador Dali? Eleanor R. Morse? Apocryphal?

Person looking at pictures in an art gallery from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: Neophyte artists must learn from the works of established artists, but imitation is controversial. A famous creator presented the following adage:

Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.

This statement has been attributed to the prominent Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí. Is this quotation genuine? Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1970 Salvador Dalí published “Dali par Dali” in French. An English translation by Eleanor R. Morse under the title “Dali by Dali” also appeared in 1970. Dalí wrote about the surprising consequences of imitation. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

During the Renaissance, when they wished to imitate Immortal Greece, they produced Raphael. Ingres wished to imitate Raphael, and became Ingres. Cézanne wished to imitate Poussin, and thus became Cézanne. Dali wanted to imitate Meissonier and THE RESULT WAS DALI. Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

In 1988 “A Dictionary of Art Quotations” compiled by Ian Crofton included the following entry:2

Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.
Salvador Dali, Dali by Dali (1970)

In 2022 “Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations” included several quotations from Dalí including these two items:3

Salvador Dali
1904-1989

The only difference between a madman and myself is that I am not mad.
Entry in Diary of a Genius [1966]

Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.
Dalí by Dalí [1970]

In conclusion,  Salvador Dali deserves credit for this quotation which was originally written in French. The translation to English appeared in his 1970 book “Dali by Dali”.

Image Notes: Illustration of a person looking at pictures in an art gallery from Zalfa Imani at Unsplash. The image has been cropped and resized.

  1. 1970, Dali by Dali by Salvador Dalí, Translated from the French by Eleanor R. Morse, Chapter: The Futuristic Dali, Quote Page 137, Harry N. Abrams, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
  2. 1988, A Dictionary of Art Quotations, Compiled by Ian Crofton, Topic: Copying and Imitation, Quote Page 42, Routledge, London. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
  3. 2022, Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, Nineteenth Edition, Original Editor: John Bartlett, General Editor: Geoffrey O’Brien, Section: Salvador Dali, Quote Page 714, Little, Brown and Company, Boston, Massachusetts. (Verified with scans) ↩︎