--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If art is to have a special train, the…" description: "\"If art is to have a special train, the critic must keep some seats reserved on it.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/oscar-wilde-16_art_if-art-is-to-have-a-special-train-the-cr_954676.jpg" --- # If art is to have a special train, the critic must keep… ![“If art is to have a special train, the critic must keep some seats reserved on it.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/oscar-wilde-16_art_if-art-is-to-have-a-special-train-the-cr_954676.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/oscar-wilde-16_art_if-art-is-to-have-a-special-train-the-cr_954676.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/oscar-wilde-16_art_if-art-is-to-have-a-special-train-the-cr_954676.jpg) > “If art is to have a special train, the critic must keep some seats reserved on it.” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critics should reserve space for art, acknowledging its unique value while maintaining a critical stance. **In simple terms:** Critics must keep room for art’s special role. Key Takeaway Balance critique with appreciation. Themes art criticism balance Mood reflective balanced Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery reviews - literary criticism - film analysis - personal art appreciation Key Concepts aesthetic theory cultural value interpretation Questions to Reflect On - When does criticism become endorsement? - How can we respect art while offering honest feedback? A Different Perspective Critics may become too protective, hindering honest evaluation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Train](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/train/) ## Related quotes > [“To train a citizen is to train a critic. The whole point of education is that it should give a man abstract and eternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/to-train-a-citizen-is-to-train-a-critic-the-whole-point-of-education/) [G.K. 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It's reserved for you alone”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-cates/no-other-man-will-ever-reside-here-it-s-reserved-for-you-alone/) [Georgia Cates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-cates/) > [Power should be reserved for weightlifting and boats, and leadership really involves responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kelleher/power-should-be-reserved-for-weightlifting-and-boats-and-leadership/) [Herb Kelleher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kelleher/) > [ Well, that would be a title \[the busiest guy in Hollywood\] still reserved for Ryan Seacrest. 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It was quite reserved and quite elegant, and it was infectious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/my-dad-had-a-personal-style-which-was-very-attractive-it-was-quite/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [She had been dragged in the most humiliating of all dusts, the dust reserved for older women who let themselves be approached, on amorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-had-been-dragged-in-the-most-humiliating-of-all-dusts-the-dust/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. 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For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## 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. 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