--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No art ever survived censorship; no art…" description: "\"No art ever survived censorship; no art ever will.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/oscar-wilde-16_art_no-art-ever-survived-censorship-no-art-e_1152707.jpg" --- # No art ever survived censorship; no art ever will. ![“No art ever survived censorship; no art ever will.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/oscar-wilde-16_art_no-art-ever-survived-censorship-no-art-e_1152707.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/oscar-wilde-16_art_no-art-ever-survived-censorship-no-art-e_1152707.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/oscar-wilde-16_art_no-art-ever-survived-censorship-no-art-e_1152707.jpg) > “No art ever survived censorship; no art ever will.” [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. Censorship stifles art; without freedom, art cannot endure. **In simple terms:** Censorship kills art. Key Takeaway Defend creative freedom. Themes freedom art censorship Mood defiant hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - publishing - film - visual arts Key Concepts politics ethics culture Questions to Reflect On - How can you support censored creators? - What alternatives exist for expression? A Different Perspective Some art thrives underground despite censorship. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [As noble Art has survived noble nature, so too she marches ahead of it, fashioning and awakening by her inspiration. Before Truth sends her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/as-noble-art-has-survived-noble-nature-so-too-she-marches-ahead-of-it/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Censorship is to art as lynching is to justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-gates/censorship-is-to-art-as-lynching-is-to-justice/) [Henry Louis Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-gates/) > [Our most intimate contact with civilizations long since dust has been through the art which has survived them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlisle-floyd/our-most-intimate-contact-with-civilizations-long-since-dust-has-been/) [Carlisle Floyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlisle-floyd/) > [Art made tongue-tied by authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/art-made-tongue-tied-by-authority/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I survive. I survived it all then and I'll survive the rest of it. Without your help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-morris/i-survive-i-survived-it-all-then-and-i-ll-survive-the-rest-of-it/) [Janet Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-morris/) > [It's not like we have a formula, but I think one of the reasons this show has survived is that it has a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-parker/it-s-not-like-we-have-a-formula-but-i-think-one-of-the-reasons-this/) [Trey Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-parker/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [I remember talking with Arcade Fire after their first record, when they were getting all kinds of offers from major labels, and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-remember-talking-with-arcade-fire-after-their-first-record-when/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [Films are not my bread and butter. I do ads. I've survived through ads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arjun-mathur/films-are-not-my-bread-and-butter-i-do-ads-i-ve-survived-through-ads/) [Arjun Mathur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arjun-mathur/) > [I've been through hell. It's hard to think you have this life, and then all of a sudden - was it a lie? You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elin-nordegren/i-ve-been-through-hell-it-s-hard-to-think-you-have-this-life-and-then/) [Elin Nordegren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elin-nordegren/) > [“survived one trip into”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-demille/survived-one-trip-into/) [Nelson DeMille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-demille/) > [You survived the abuse, you’re going to survive the recovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariska-hargitay/you-survived-the-abuse-you-re-going-to-survive-the-recovery/) [Mariska Hargitay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariska-hargitay/) > [Wasn't Saddam destroyed? Wasn't Gaddafi liquidated? Didn't Milosevic go to the Hague? All true. But Stalin survived. 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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. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. 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. 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. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No art ever survived censorship; no art ever will.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/no-art-ever-survived-censorship-no-art-ever-will/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/no-art-ever-survived-censorship-no-art-ever-will/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/oscar-wilde-16_art_no-art-ever-survived-censorship-no-art-e_1152707.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/oscar-wilde-16_art_no-art-ever-survived-censorship-no-art-e_1152707.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/oscar-wilde-16_art_no-art-ever-survived-censorship-no-art-e_1152707.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No art ever survived censorship; no art ever will.” — Oscar Wilde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "No art ever survived censorship; no...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/no-art-ever-survived-censorship-no-art-ever-will/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/no-art-ever-survived-censorship-no-art-ever-will/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```