oliver herford gives as good as he gets

From a book of reminisces by Joseph Cummings Chase:  perennial Museum favorite Oliver Herford gets teased about his humble subject matter, but unsurprisingly has a witty turnaround. . .

A few years ago, while Oliver's "The Rubaiyat of a Persian Kitten" was being widely read, Childe Hassam attempted to tease him—a dangerous experiment at best. Hassam was considered somewhat of a modernist in his painting. And when he inquired of Oliver, "Why do you always draw kittens—nothing but kittens, kittens, kittens?"  Oliver came back with, "Certainly I draw kittens, but I don't call them landscapes."

 -- Chase, J. Cummings. (1933). My friends look good to me. New York: Sears publishing company. 66.