What's wrong with a wallpaper sampler? There are lots of neat colors and patterns in there too.
I don't understand how you can call out snobbery at the same time that you equate painting from life with dolphins jumping in front of a full moon, and imply that photography made life painting completely obsolete.
> What's wrong with a wallpaper sampler? There are lots of neat colors and patterns in there too.
Yes, but it lacks the artist's purpose.
> I don't understand how you can call out snobbery at the same time that you equate painting from life with dolphins jumping in front of a full moon
Sorry about that; I fell prey to my own intellectual snobbery :)
> and imply that photography made life painting completely obsolete.
Photography made art as an imitation of reality obsolete, at least.
There is definitely a "snobbery of philistines" who want to not understand modern art because it isn't about pretty pictures. Making pretty pictures has been outdated in the 1840 by photography, and it's been nearly 100 years since Duchamps presented his "fountain".
If you like pretty pictures, there are people painting dolphins jumping in front of a full moon. Is that what you call art?