“The Ancients Stole All Our Great Ideas”

From the Fine Art Connoisseur November/December 2025 Editor’s Note:

“The Ancients Stole All Our Great Ideas. And I want them back, thank you very much.”
Mark Twain wrote these words long ago, yet their perversity still has the power to amuse us, and to give us pause. Rather than throwing in the towel, regretting that it’s all been done before, we must draw from Twain’s quip the courage to carry on. We would be fools to think no one has ever before felt exactly as we do, or pondered the same thoughts. Yet each individual is unique in the history of the world, casting their eye backward and forward in a completely distinctive way.

The benefits of such back-and-forth-ing are borne out by a range of articles in this issue, which have got me thinking about how crucial it is to bring living artists, and contemporary artworks, into proximity with historical ones. Our Three to Watch section highlights a trio of young, emerging talents — Gabrielle Castle, Katya Dennison, and Gaby Nighan. All three women declare their reverence for various aspects of art history, and this awareness certainly shows in their artworks, fresh and individual as they are. Considerably older — and equally attuned to art of the past — are three acclaimed painters: Eric Fischl, James Foot, and Barry Oretsky. Each richly deserves his own feature article, and I am delighted that we could make that happen here.

These six artists’ accounts of what they glean from the past reminds me that I have
never met a living artist — no matter how “edgy” — who does not stumble into something thrilling while walking through a museum display of Old Master or 19th-century art. There one soul recognizes another, across the centuries; their methods and markets may be different, but that inner drive is fundamentally the same. Artists ask each other not just “how did you do that?” but “why did you do that?’

Now more than ever, we need more people asking more questions of each other, even of those who have already departed this world. Mark Twain could see that, and those of us who love visual art should help make that happen as often as we can.

What are your thoughts? Share your letter to the Editor below in the comments.

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