From the point of view of subject, a healthy work of art is one the choice of whose subject is conditioned by the temperament of the artist, and comes directly out of it … A healthy work of art is one that has both perfection and personality. Of course, form and substance cannot be separated in a work of art; they are always one, but for purposes of analysis, and setting the wholeness of aesthetic impression aside for a moment, we can separate them.
The word ‘unhealthy,’ however, admits of analysis. It is a rather interesting word. In fact, it is so interesting that the people who use it do not know what it means … An unhealthy work of art, is a work whose style is obvious, old-fashioned, and common, and whose subject is deliberately chosen, not because the artist has any pleasure in it, but because he thinks that the public will pay him for it.