one picture is worth a thousand words

Idioms  

1. see picture is worth a thousand words.

2. A graphic illustration conveys a stronger message than words, as in The book jacket is a big selling point—one picture is worth a thousand words. This saying was invented by an advertising executive, Fred R. Barnard. To promote his agency's ads he took out an ad in Printer's Ink in 1921 with the headline “One Look Is Worth a Thousand Words” and attributed it to an ancient Japanese philosopher. Six years later he changed it to “Chinese Proverb: One Picture Is Worth Ten Thousand Words,” illustrated with some Chinese characters. The attribution in both was invented; Barnard simply believed an Asian origin would give it more credibility.

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Example Sentences

The legendary play-by-play man Vin Scully, announcing the game on television, said, “If one picture is worth a thousand words, you have seen about a million words.”

From The New Yorker • May 28, 2019

“But one picture is worth a thousand words, and this picture was of a high-publicity vessel in a very bad way. Perception-wise, that’s huge.”

From New York Times • Aug. 22, 2017