Full Idea
It is only when an object exists for no other purpose than to be seen that we really look at it, …and then even the most normal person adopts to some extent the artistic attitude of pure vision abstracted from necessity.
Gist of Idea
Everyone reveals an aesthetic attitude, looking at something which only exists to be seen
Source
Roger Fry (An Essay in Aesthetics [1909], p.29)
Book Reference
Fry,Roger: 'Vision and Design' [Penguin 1937], p.29
A Reaction
A painter of still life looks at things which exist for other purposes, with just the attitude which Fry attributes to the viewers of the paintings. We can encourage a child to look at a flower with just this attitude.