And to distinguish it from the schism of our Dissenters, he says it is not a separation from the church, but a separation from error.

– The Christian Observer: ‘Review of Pamphlets on Union with the Church of Rome’, 1820

Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.

– 1 Timothy 5:22 (King James Version)

Though he teaches Oriental art history (at Brooklyn and Hunter colleges), Reinhardt denies any undue Eastern influences on his purist pursuits. “Artists,” he says, “should have a kind of Malrauxian point of view, in which the whole history of art is known to and is part of them. Otherwise, they’re idiots, children” (his lip curls) “or romantics.”

– Grace Glueck: ‘Mr. Pure’,  New York Times, 13 November 1966

In turn, Mr. Reinhardt was called the “black monk” of abstract expressionism, and as he outlined his role as naysayer in numerous articles and manifestos, one art writer started referring to him as “Mr. Pure.”

– New York Times: ‘Ad Reinhardt, Painter, is Dead’, 1 September 1967