The Quiet Eye: A Way of Looking at Pictures

by Sylvia Shaw Judson

The Quiet Eye is a book of great charm, imbued with a love and understanding of art that speaks directly to the heart.

The thirty-three pictures selected by the American sculptress Sylvia Shaw Judson cover a wide spectrum of subjects and styles from the seventh century to the modern day. They include works by artists ranging from Durer and Brueghel to Rousseau and Klee, pottery and sculpture from ancient Greece, Oriental scrolls and wall paintings, and are accompanied by quotations from Plato and Shakespeare to Wordsworth and Walt Whitman.

In making her choice Sylvia Judson's intention was, in her own words, "to communicate a sense of affirmation, of wonder, of trust. This is a spirit alien to much of the art of our insecure time, but one which I am confident will some day return."

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Poetry, Faith, Art History

70 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Bojan Tunguz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The combination of art and spirituality seems to be a very natural one, and yet many spiritual traditions throughout the ages have looked with suspicion at art. Quakers, Sylvia Judson’s own religious community, always prided themselves on exquisite simplicity of life and shunned all visually ostentations displays, which included almost all art. Judson wanted to change this attitude to some extent, and her book “The Quiet Eye” is an important and valuable example of this.

This book is a collection of many beautiful images of art throughout the centuries. Each image is accompanied with a quote, most of which have some important spiritual message to convey and are in some way related to the image they are associated with. Both the quotes and the images are beautiful and they stimulate the imagination. The stimulus is a subtle one, and the experience is mean to be inward and introspective. In this regard the book is very much in tune with the Quaker tradition.

This is a very beautiful small book that eschews trappings of cheap and trite spirituality. It could be used as a small traveling companion for all of our spiritual journeys.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very simple and short little book by someone who collected images which invoke a certain spiritual stillness. I happened to pick it up in a bookstore and it had an unusual effect on me. It helps to ground me and remind me of what that stillness feels like. Less of a book you read (the text on each page is usually less than a few lines), it is more one you might sit with and meditate on.

[Dholsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this book at a flea market and it has been my go to book for much needed solace. It is the "quiet storm" in the midst of a busy world. This is not a book that is truly marked "read" as in complete with it-put back on the shelf....It haunts, invites, urges the reader to come back--to drink in the Zen/bare-naked Emily Dickinson style. It's hard to believe that with a copyright of 1954, this book does not feel dated.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was curious to find this book left for me in my room at a writers’ retreat at Ragdale, and delighted to learn of a Quaker connection to the place I was staying for the week. It’s a lovely little reminder to look, to pay attention, to notice.

[Vincent DiGirolamo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I must see William Penn's grave, quote W. Williams to M. Williams: "As to me, I know of nothing else but miracles," and tell the knitters and stitchers in my life something they already know: "Great peace is found in little busy-ness." (Chaucer) Credit also goes to Edward Hicks, an anonymous byzantine, and Georges Seurat.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quiet perfection.

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discovered this book while reading a blog post by Miriam Rockness. - https://ililiastrotter.wordpress.com/...

“Through selected art and text, a Quaker sculptor communicates a sense of affirmation, wonder and trust in the sacredness of the daily. The Quiet Eye is a small book of great charm, imbued with a love and understanding of art that speaks directly to the heart. The thirty-three pictures selected by the American sculptress Sylvia Shaw Judson cover a wide spectrum of subjects and styles, from the seventh century to the modern day.” - https://quakerbooks.org/products/the-...

I realized once again, I don’t like the vast majority of what is classified as “art.” I simply can’t appreciate it. I like what I find beautiful, and the rest just seems unnecessary. Like certain genres of music, or rubbishy novels… yes something was expressed, but was it needful to share it with the world? Granted, it’s just my opinion.

I think I like what Judson sought to do in “The Quiet Eye” but I felt like I needed the book to be a bit more instructional. The art she chose was so varied, it would have been helpful to have the medium used listed. As well as a thought or two about how to even appreciate the piece, or why she chose it. Had the art pieces been different, pieces truly beautiful perhaps I could have appreciated them more. I liked the text more than the imagery.

Not a book I’ll keep, but an interesting read. It’s a very short book, mostly a look-book.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book to my mother in 1994. At the time I'd spent time at Ragdale (home of the Shaws) and knew members of the family personally. Everything about Ragdale brought me a sense of peace. While Sylvia Shaw Judson is best known for the Bird Girl of Savannah Georgia, I personally loved the little lamb that stood to the side of the main house in Lake Forest. In any case, it was lovely to dig up this little book she wrote and to sink into its atmosphere of art and spirit. My favorite of the quotes she picked for the book, was that from Albert Schweitzer, "We are united with all life that is in nature. Man can no longer live his life for himself alone." My favorite picture is Hare by Albrecht Durer. A gem to turn to again and again.

[Stevie Ada · Rating 4 out of 5]

A considered way of slowing the reader down to look at and mindfully consider text and images. While there are some antiquated and problematic ideas of "purity" seeded throughout, The Quiet Eye: A Way of Looking at Pictures is a small and succinct book. Sylvia Shaw Judson's editing and curation provide potent reminders of the ways that visual culture can ask us to reconsider time. This was left in my studio at Ragdale Foundation and it has been a welcome book to return to here and there.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this book when I was weeding the our university library's art collection, and have looked at it every day since then. I find it to be the best self help book that I have come across, connecting me to myself and humanity, all cultures, all times. I love it. The yellow cover also speaks of "assurance" to me, and I appreciate that.

[Emma Johnson]

a coworker gave me this tiny book they found at a library book sale. quakers, art, mysticism…right up my alley. it is perfect and wonderful. also a beautifully designed and printed book.

it includes one of my favorite quotations:

“There lives the dearest freshness deep down things” — Gerard Manley Hopkins

[Judy]

Who loves the rain,
And loves his home,
And looks on life with quiet eyes,
Him will I follow through the storm,
And at his hearth - fire keep me warm,
Nor hell nor heaven shall that soul surprise
Who loves the rain,
And loves his home,
And looks on life with quiet eyes.

A selection of life-affirming works of art.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Small but beautiful book about approaching art from a quiet perspective

[Anna Jerz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully simple book that definitely makes you stop and appreciate its truth and beauty.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book that you finish. For me it will be a book that will be close by to pick up and explore again and again. The older I get the more I want to get in touch with my Quaker roots.

[Madhusree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love dipping into this book... always makes me reflect.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spare and uplifting. Sylvia Shaw Judson's painstaking pairing of quotations with images is breathtaking.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled across this small book in my Quaker landlord’s library. It left me feeling reflective and relaxed this morning as I enjoyed my cup of coffee and the sun striking the trees outside.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly quick and interesting read. Probably meant to be read more meditatively than I did. A good spring board, for some, as an intro to art or specific artists.

[Ginger Petrick]

Beautiful Pictures. Wonderful saying.

Ex.: "The way to do is to be."

"Work of sight is done
Now do heart work
On the pictures within you.

[Rob]

A form of meditation.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

A piece of art selected by Sylvia Shaw Judson, an American sculptress, and a quotation or poem to go with it. It is a little book--33 pictures in all. Given to me by my old Atlanta friend, Barbara Thompson. Quiet, peaceful book.

[Cynthia Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

The spirituality of this book, with it's brief quotes & art, calls the Spirit to rest & reflect. It is small but it's simplicity may be the point. Express and, if necessary, use words. (I know, I know, it is a paraphrase by St. Augustine. Still, it applies to this book)

[Joanne G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a pretty little book, but that was exactly the problem. It was too small for an art book, but I enjoyed the quiet spirit of the writing.

[Ruthie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully calming

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was gifted to me by a good friend from Iowa City. I have since gifted others hoping it is as life altering as it was to me...

[LemontreeLime · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet little book, with an interesting juxtaposition of quotes and art.