The historian David McCullough died this past week. He’s known for his presidential research and biographies, as well as other work. He saw history as the study of human life, including art, and I was particularly struck by this advice he gave:
“I paint all the time. I love it. And I highly recommend it for everyone. Get out there and paint. It’s good for the soul. But I also particularly stress to people who say they want to become writers, young people, take a course in drawing or painting because it helps you to learn to see, to look, and that’s what writing is often about.”
— historian David McCullough (1933-2022), in an interview with Jeffrey Brown of the PBS Newshour, aired Monday, Aug 8, as part of its coverage of his passing
(Photo by the author, of her own art supplies!)
What great advice! I started out with art, then moved to writing. Maybe I need to add art back in? Thanks for the thought-provoking quote.
I find doing another art — or deliberately engaging with it and hanging out with artists working in other media — a huge boost to the creative spirit. As McCullough says, it helps us learn to see — or listen — and also to engage more deeply with a different part of our mind. To be, I think he would say, more fully human.