Life — May 5, 1921 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Life Magazine - "May Breezes" This page features a romantic poem by Mary Coles Carrington paired with a satirical sketch. The illustration shows a crowded indoor scene where a man displays his artwork to others while a woman in the foreground examines it closely. The caption reads: "There's a reason for everything / 'Are his pictures really any good?' / 'I think they must be; all the other artists are knocking them.'" The satire mocks artistic pretension and professional jealousy. The joke suggests that if rival artists are criticizing someone's work, that criticism itself becomes perverse proof of quality—because artists' negative opinions are assumed to stem from envy rather than honest assessment. It's commentary on how artistic reputation can become detached from actual merit.