--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An art is only great and significant if…" description: "\"An art is only great and significant if it is one that all may enjoy. The art of a clique is but a plaything.\" — W. Somerset Maugham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/w-somerset-maugham-237_art_an-art-is-only-great-and-significant-if_1250176.jpg" --- # An art is only great and significant if it is one that all… ![“An art is only great and significant if it is one that all may enjoy. The art of a clique is but a plaything.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/w-somerset-maugham-237_art_an-art-is-only-great-and-significant-if_1250176.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/w-somerset-maugham-237_art_an-art-is-only-great-and-significant-if_1250176.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/w-somerset-maugham-237_art_an-art-is-only-great-and-significant-if_1250176.jpg) > “An art is only great and significant if it is one that all may enjoy. The art of a clique is but a plaything.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should aim for universal appeal; exclusive art serves only a privileged few. **In simple terms:** Great art is inclusive. Key Takeaway Create works that speak to many. Themes art inclusivity culture Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - public murals - community workshops Key Concepts aesthetics social critique Questions to Reflect On - How can artists balance personal vision with broad appeal? - What defines “all may enjoy”? A Different Perspective Exclusive art can alienate audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Clique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clique/) ## Related quotes > [Everybody is born with the capacity to enjoy, but not with the art. People think just because they are alive and they breathe and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/everybody-is-born-with-the-capacity-to-enjoy-but-not-with-the-art/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I've been collecting art for much of my adult life. I started around 1960. And my wife and I really enjoy art a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kandel/i-ve-been-collecting-art-for-much-of-my-adult-life-i-started-around/) [Eric Kandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kandel/) > [It is certain that the real function of art is to increase our self-consciousness; to make us more aware of what we are, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-w-n-sullivan/it-is-certain-that-the-real-function-of-art-is-to-increase-our-self/) [J. W. N. Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-w-n-sullivan/) > [No one, though has to go to college to make or understand or enjoy art. Wonderful artists and critics - some of the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adams/no-one-though-has-to-go-to-college-to-make-or-understand-or-enjoy-art/) [Robert Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adams/) > [I have this ridiculous idea that art should just be for everyone, and everyone should get to enjoy art and it shouldn't be this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-buckman/i-have-this-ridiculous-idea-that-art-should-just-be-for-everyone-and/) [Zoe Buckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-buckman/) > [I love painters because I don't paint, so I get to enjoy art; I like collecting paintings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-armisen/i-love-painters-because-i-don-t-paint-so-i-get-to-enjoy-art-i-like/) [Fred Armisen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-armisen/) > [When I'm working, on stage, entertaining people, or watching someone do something amazing, it inspires me to be the best artist that I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naturi-naughton/when-i-m-working-on-stage-entertaining-people-or-watching-someone-do/) [Naturi Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naturi-naughton/) > [Such discussions help us very little to enjoy what has been well done in art or poetry, to discriminate between what is more and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-pater/such-discussions-help-us-very-little-to-enjoy-what-has-been-well-done/) [Walter Pater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-pater/) > [I mean, the type of art that I enjoy is art that - I enjoy a very broad spectrum, but I especially like art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-watts/i-mean-the-type-of-art-that-i-enjoy-is-art-that-i-enjoy-a-very-broad/) [Reggie Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-watts/) > [I enjoy the art, and I enjoy drawing. I think my printing to this day looks like the printing right out of a comic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-fillion/i-enjoy-the-art-and-i-enjoy-drawing-i-think-my-printing-to-this-day/) [Nathan Fillion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-fillion/) > [As an architect, you have to provide a shelter to enjoy art. And you have to love art. It's like when you make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renzo-piano/as-an-architect-you-have-to-provide-a-shelter-to-enjoy-art-and-you/) [Renzo Piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renzo-piano/) > [If I were only allowed to read or enjoy art or listen to music made by people whose opinions and beliefs were the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/if-i-were-only-allowed-to-read-or-enjoy-art-or-listen-to-music-made/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I don't enjoy art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-cauley-stein/i-don-t-enjoy-art/) [Willie Cauley-Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-cauley-stein/) > [I enjoy art, architecture, museums, churches and temples; anything that gives me insight into the history and soul of the place I'm in. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherie-lunghi/i-enjoy-art-architecture-museums-churches-and-temples-anything-that/) [Cherie Lunghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherie-lunghi/) > [“You can’t enjoy art or books in a hurry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-enjoy-art-or-books-in-a-hurry/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by W. Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“There is no more merit in having read a thousand books than in having ploughed a thousand fields.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-is-no-more-merit-in-having-read-a-thousand-books-than-in-having/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“I wanted to live again and again. I was willing to accept every sort of life, no matter what its pain and sorrow; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-wanted-to-live-again-and-again-i-was-willing-to-accept-every-sort/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## 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": "An art is only great and significant if it is one that all may enjoy. 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