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Why did Oscar Wilde and Walter Pater support the idea of art for art's sake?

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Philosophy of art *Untitled (String Quilt, Housetop Pattern)*, cotton quilt with flour sack backing, 1930s; in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

Oscar Wilde and Walter Pater supported the doctrine of art for art’s sake as a reaction against the prevailing utilitarian social philosophies and the perceived ugliness of the industrial age.1

For these figures, art was viewed as an autonomous pursuit that required no justification through political, moral, or didactic ends. Instead, they believed that art exists solely for the sake of its beauty.213

Walter Pater, a primary influence on this movement, argued that art should be appreciated for its innate qualities rather than its educational or moral value. He emphasized the importance of aesthetic intensity, famously urging individuals to live life with a "hard, gemlike flame". Oscar Wilde adopted these ideas, becoming a prominent spokesman for Aestheticism in England. By divorcing art from external utility, both men sought to elevate the cultivation of refined sensibility and the pursuit of ideal beauty as the central focus of artistic and personal life.3451