As much as art history fascinated him, he was skeptical of historians and teachers in academia who had little to offer in the ways of real world experience. Schapiro's love for modern abstract art was informed by his love for much older forms of art (Romanesque sculpture, Renaissance art, religious art, Impressionism, etc.), and he saw an undeniable connection between the ancient and the modern. In a 1973 speech, Schapiro said, "The study of art history presupposes that art is a universal and permanent feature of civilized life and that what we do to preserve it, and to discriminate the best of it, will contribute to future enjoyment as much as to our own.