"A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist"
About this Quote
The intent isn’t really to define categories of workers; it’s to rehabilitate emotion as a form of expertise. In a culture that often treats feeling as softness (or as marketing), Nizer smuggles it into the equation as an essential instrument. “Hands” grants dignity to manual work, “brain” nods to professionalism and training, then “heart” reframes artistry as ethical and psychological investment: care, risk, taste, and the willingness to be implicated in what you make.
The subtext also flatters the speaker’s world. Lawyers, after all, work with brain and (ideally) heart while performing for an audience of judge and jury. Nizer’s formulation quietly argues that true excellence in any field is not sterile mastery but human stakes. It’s aspirational, yes, but also strategic: by making art a matter of integrated effort, he elevates everyday work while reserving a special status for those who can make craft feel like meaning.
Quote Details
| Topic | Art |
|---|---|
| Source | Verified source: Biology for Engineers, Second Edition (Arthur T. Johnson, 2018)ISBN: 9781351165624 · ID: DEqMDwAAQBAJ
Evidence:
... A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist. —Louis Nizer Competition in the biological world is ... |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Nizer, Louis. (2026, February 10). A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-man-who-works-with-his-hands-is-a-laborer-a-man-87301/
Chicago Style
Nizer, Louis. "A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist." FixQuotes. February 10, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-man-who-works-with-his-hands-is-a-laborer-a-man-87301/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist." FixQuotes, 10 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-man-who-works-with-his-hands-is-a-laborer-a-man-87301/. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
