“No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist”

“No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist” is a motivational saying that has been printed on many posters. The quotation is frequently credited to Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali (1904-1989), but it’s uncertain when he said it. The earliest citation is from Salvador Dali: Master of Surrealism and Modern Art (1971) by By G. A. Cevasco:
 
“Whatever one may think of his mysticism (and a sceptical approach may be best) there is no impugning Dali’s dedication to his art. His work comes first. ‘No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist,’ he holds as a self-evident truth.”
       
 
Wikipedia: Salvador Dali
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marqués de Dalí de Pubol (May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989), known as Salvador Dalí (/ˈdɑːli/; Catalan: [səɫβəˈðo ðəˈɫi]), was a prominent Spanish surrealist painter, sculptor, scenographer, filmmaker, jewelry designer, and writer born in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain.
 
Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work.
 
Google Books
Salvador Dali:
Master of Surrealism and Modern Art
By G. A. Cevasco
Charlotteville, NY: SamHar Press
1971
Pg. 17:
Whatever one may think of his mysticism (and a sceptical approach may be best) there is no impugning Dali’s dedication to his art. His work comes first. “No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist,” he holds as a self-evident truth.
 
9 December 1979, Marietta (GA) Daily Journal, “Batik Artist Creates A Visual ‘Heaven’”  by Anita Sharpe, pg. 1B, col. 5:
“Salvador Dali said that no masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist.”
 
Google Groups: alt.culture.tuva
Huun-Huur-Tu at Stanford
Kerry Yackoboski
1/11/94
(...)
“No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist.”—Salvador Dali
 
Google Groups: alt.fan.zoogz-rift
New ZR int. w/IMPROVIJAZZATION NATION
Zoogz Rift—The Liquid Moamo
1/10/96
(...)
As Salvador Dali said, “No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist.”
 
Google Books
School Mobbing and Emotional Abuse:
See it - Stop it - Prevent it with Dignity and Respect
By Gail Pursell Elliott
New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge
2003
Pg. 80:
“No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist.”— Eleanor Thompson
 
Twitter
Mary
‏@GalleryGirl411
No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist. Salvadore Dali
8:11 AM - 18 Apr 2009
 
Twitter
Ish Regodos
‏@ishlibidish
says no masterpiece is ever created by a lazy artist—- Salvador Dali http://plurk.com/p/14xuf7
4:17 AM - 29 Jun 2009
 
Twitter
Müller-Brockmann
‏@mullerbrockmann
No masterpiece was ever created by a lazy artist.
—Salvador Dali
10:01 AM - 17 May 2010