Matisse as ‘The Apostle of the Ugly,’ and ‘Good American Paintings Are Like the Stock Market’ — artnews.com

[T]he work and ideas of Matisse calls for special attention and study and even if one cannot admire his too evident love of the ugly in form and feature, his frequent vulgarity of subject and treatment in all the mediums, one cannot but marvel at his versatility and be impressed, above all, by his draughtsmanship. For the man, despite his glaring faults is unquestionably able and capable of higher flghts [sic] than he has yet made. He is a paradox—for with at times his evident love of the beautiful as shown by his grace of line and infrequently his composition and color, he seems to prefer to render the ugly in an ugly way. In fact he may be called “The Apostle of the Ugly.” . . . These works violate the essential canons of art and it is difficult to see how they can have any educational or art value.

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