Art for Art's Sake

The following lectures were delivered before the students of Princeton College, Columbia College, and Eutgers College. Their reception as lectures has led to their publication in book form. The subject with which they deal is one well calculated to arouse differences of opinion. Modern painting is so largely a matter of taste that no one, not even an artist, is allowed to dogmatize about it, or lay down arbitrary rules for its production. Sometimes a candid statement of one's view or preference helps others to a better understanding or a keener enjoyment, and if these lectures prove serviceable in that respect their object will have been fulfilled