Willem de Kooning Quote

I had my own eyes, but I wasn't always looking in the right direction. I was certainly in need of a helping hand at times. Now I feel like Manet who said, "Yes, I am influenced by everybody. But every time I put my hands in my pockets I find someone else's fingers there."

As quoted in Willem De Kooning, 1904-1997: Content as a Glimpse by Barbara Hess, 2004.