--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The child and the great artist -- these…" description: "\"The child and the great artist -- these alone receive the sensation fresh as it was at the beginning of the world.\" — Edith Sitwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/edith-sitwell-8023_art_the-child-and-the-great-artist-these-alo_2731599.png" --- # The child and the great artist -- these alone receive the… ![“The child and the great artist -- these alone receive the sensation fresh as it was at the beginning of the world.” quote by Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/edith-sitwell-8023_art_the-child-and-the-great-artist-these-alo_2731599.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/edith-sitwell-8023_art_the-child-and-the-great-artist-these-alo_2731599.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/edith-sitwell-8023_art_the-child-and-the-great-artist-these-alo_2731599.png) > “The child and the great artist -- these alone receive the sensation fresh as it was at the beginning of the world.” [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True creativity feels fresh and awe‑inspiring, like the world’s original wonder. **In simple terms:** Art feels new and wondrous. Key Takeaway Seek the childlike wonder in artistic work. Themes creativity wonder originality Mood contemplative inspired Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting - writing - performing - teaching art Key Concepts aesthetic experience innocence artistic inspiration Questions to Reflect On - How can artists preserve childlike awe? - What practices keep creativity feeling new? A Different Perspective Maintaining that freshness can be difficult over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Great artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-artist/) [Sensations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensations/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Art solves nothing, either for the artist himself or for those who receive his art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/art-solves-nothing-either-for-the-artist-himself-or-for-those-who/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [The great artist is a formulation of the greatest intelligence: he is the recipient of sensations which are the most delicate and consequently the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/the-great-artist-is-a-formulation-of-the-greatest-intelligence-he-is/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [Flaubert spoke true: to succeed a great artist must have both character and fanaticism and few in this country are willing to pay the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/flaubert-spoke-true-to-succeed-a-great-artist-must-have-both/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [“I was an only child. It's a great disadvantage being an only child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/i-was-an-only-child-it-s-a-great-disadvantage-being-an-only-child/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Living in London with one child was great, but when number two came along - an energetic little boy - the countryside beckoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-savoretti/living-in-london-with-one-child-was-great-but-when-number-two-came/) [Jack Savoretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-savoretti/) > [I've always wanted to be a mom. I had a great relationship with mine. 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Art is first appearances, then meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-cannot-be-convinced-that-great-artists-are-moralists-art-is-first/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [One can be a great artist without being a great technician. There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) Fernando Bujones > [There are so many great artists, I think, who kind of suffer from being icons, legends, acknowledged masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/there-are-so-many-great-artists-i-think-who-kind-of-suffer-from-being/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) ## More by Edith Sitwell > [The reason why Matthew Arnold, to my feeling, fails entirely as a poet (though no doubt his ideas were good - at least, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/the-reason-why-matthew-arnold-to-my-feeling-fails-entirely-as-a-poet/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [The great sins and fires break out of me like the terrible leaves from the bough in the violent spring. I am a walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/the-great-sins-and-fires-break-out-of-me-like-the-terrible-leaves/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [“Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/eccentricity-is-not-as-dull-people-would-have-us-believe-a-form-of/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [I am not eccentric. It's just that I am more alive than most people. I am an unpopular electric eel set in a pond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/i-am-not-eccentric-it-s-just-that-i-am-more-alive-than-most-people-i/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/i-am-patient-with-stupidity-but-not-with-those-who-are-proud-of-it/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [“Said the lion to the lioness - "when you are amber dust - No more a raging fire like the heat of the sun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/said-the-lion-to-the-lioness-when-you-are-amber-dust-no-more-a-raging/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [“The fusty showman fumbles, must Fit in a particle of dust The universe, for fear it gain Its freedom from my cube of brain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/the-fusty-showman-fumbles-must-fit-in-a-particle-of-dust-the-universe/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [The trouble with most Englishwomen is that they will dress as if they had been a mouse in a previous incarnation they do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/the-trouble-with-most-englishwomen-is-that-they-will-dress-as-if-they/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [The poet is the complete lover of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/the-poet-is-the-complete-lover-of-mankind/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [What is the special privilege of youth? It is, I think, the power of looking forward, the firm belief that the future holds something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/what-is-the-special-privilege-of-youth-it-is-i-think-the-power-of/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [Rhythm is one of the principal translators between dream and reality. Rhythm might be described as, to the world of sound, what light is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/rhythm-is-one-of-the-principal-translators-between-dream-and-reality/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/winter-is-the-time-for-comfort-for-good-food-and-warmth-for-the-touch/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [Hot water is my native element. I was in it as a baby, and I have never seemed to get out of it ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/hot-water-is-my-native-element-i-was-in-it-as-a-baby-and-i-have-never/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [The aim of flattery is to soothe and encourage us by assuring us of the truth of an opinion we have already formed about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/the-aim-of-flattery-is-to-soothe-and-encourage-us-by-assuring-us-of/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [A great many people now reading and writing would be better employed keeping rabbits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/a-great-many-people-now-reading-and-writing-would-be-better-employed/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) [Explore all 85 Edith Sitwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. 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