--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know much about auctions. I…" description: "\"I don't know much about auctions. I sometimes go to previews and see art sardined into ugly rooms. I've gawked at the gaudy prices, and gaped at well-c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/jerry-saltz-1712_art_i-don-t-know-much-about-auctions-i-somet_358758.jpg" --- # I don't know much about auctions. I sometimes go to… ![“I don't know much about auctions. I sometimes go to previews and see art sardined into ugly rooms. I've gawked at the gaudy prices, and gaped at well-clad crowds of happy white people conspicuously spending hundreds of millions of dollars.” quote by Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/jerry-saltz-1712_art_i-don-t-know-much-about-auctions-i-somet_358758.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/jerry-saltz-1712_art_i-don-t-know-much-about-auctions-i-somet_358758.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/jerry-saltz-1712_art_i-don-t-know-much-about-auctions-i-somet_358758.jpg) > “I don't know much about auctions. I sometimes go to previews and see art sardined into ugly rooms. I've gawked at the gaudy prices, and gaped at well-clad crowds of happy white people conspicuously spending hundreds of millions of dollars.” [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observes the spectacle of high‑price art sales, noting the absurdity and exclusivity of wealthy crowds. **In simple terms:** Art auctions feel like a show of excess and elite culture. Key Takeaway Question the value and purpose of extravagant art markets. Themes art consumerism elitism Mood critical skeptical Type analytical observational When to use this quote - gallery visits - art collecting - budgeting for art - social critique Key Concepts value spectacle culture Questions to Reflect On - Why do people pay huge sums for art? - How does exclusivity shape art perception? A Different Perspective May overlook the artistic merit of works themselves. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Auctions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auctions/) [Auctions Previews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auctions-previews-3298732/) [Conspicuously Spending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conspicuously-spending-3298733/) [Crowds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowds/) [Dollars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dollars/) [Gaudy Prices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gaudy-prices-3298731/) [Go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/go/) [Know Auctions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-auctions-3298730/) [Millions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/millions/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Preview](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preview/) [Rooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooms/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Spending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spending/) [Ugly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ugly/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-people/) ## Related quotes > [Auctions are bizarre combinations of slave market, trading floor, theatre and burlesque... a lot of people are going to be making a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/auctions-are-bizarre-combinations-of-slave-market-trading-floor/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [I hate art auctions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/i-hate-art-auctions/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Auction houses run a rigged game. They know exactly how many people will be bidding on a work and exactly who they are. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/auction-houses-run-a-rigged-game-they-know-exactly-how-many-people/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Now people look at 'The Scream' or Van Gogh's 'Irises' or a Picasso and see its new content: money. Auction houses inherently equate capital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/now-people-look-at-the-scream-or-van-gogh-s-irises-or-a-picasso-and/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [A saboteur in the house of art and a comedienne in the house of art theory, Lawler has spent three decades documenting the secret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/a-saboteur-in-the-house-of-art-and-a-comedienne-in-the-house-of-art/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [ When I go to the movies, and I have to sit through ten previews of films that look \[alike\] and tell the whole story,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/when-i-go-to-the-movies-and-i-have-to-sit-through-ten-previews-of/) [Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/) > [At early previews, the theater gossips are there, wishing you ill every night. They don't grant you any slack. Agents are in from Hollywood.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-stone/at-early-previews-the-theater-gossips-are-there-wishing-you-ill-every/) [Peter Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-stone/) > [I love theatre. It's far more satisfying than film. Sometimes there's a collective sigh from the audience, or it's so quiet you can hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-leung/i-love-theatre-it-s-far-more-satisfying-than-film-sometimes-there-s-a/) [Katie Leung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-leung/) > [I’ve loved the whole process. From previews to rehearsals, I’m in the best company. I’ve done one West End show before this but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-grint/i-ve-loved-the-whole-process-from-previews-to-rehearsals-i-m-in-the/) [Rupert Grint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-grint/) > [Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Never give up on what you really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/imagination-is-everything-it-is-the-preview-of-life-s-coming/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Iraq may have been a preview of that, but it's still redeemable if we get out fast. In a war with Iran, we'll get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/iraq-may-have-been-a-preview-of-that-but-it-s-still-redeemable-if-we/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [ And how deeply do I let business considerations affect \[screenwriting\] choices that might otherwise be more or less esthetic? . . . Do I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-zwick/and-how-deeply-do-i-let-business-considerations-affect-screenwriting/) [Edward Zwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-zwick/) > [Christ's miracles were not the suspension of the natural order but the restoration of the natural order. They were a reminder of what once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/christ-s-miracles-were-not-the-suspension-of-the-natural-order-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My grandmother was an unparalleled storyteller who gave me a preview of how life might turn out, and also fortified my empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/my-grandmother-was-an-unparalleled-storyteller-who-gave-me-a-preview/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [Prayer is the preview of God's action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/prayer-is-the-preview-of-god-s-action/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) ## More by Jerry Saltz > [One argument goes that recessions are good for female artists because when money flies out the window, women are allowed in the house. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/one-argument-goes-that-recessions-are-good-for-female-artists-because/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Kinkade estimated that one of his paintings hung in every twenty homes in America. Yet the art world unanimously ignores or reviles him. Me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/kinkade-estimated-that-one-of-his-paintings-hung-in-every-twenty/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [The German ueber-photographer Andreas Gursky was the perfect pre-9/11 artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/the-german-ueber-photographer-andreas-gursky-was-the-perfect-pre-9-11/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [The debut show, “Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary,” is supposed to be about how artists reuse humble or unusual materials. 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In some ways, they're my favorite people in the art world. Really. I love that they put their money where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/i-love-art-dealers-in-some-ways-they-re-my-favorite-people-in-the-art/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [My nominee for Best Picture of the year - maybe the best picture ever, because it's essentially made up of and is an ecstatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/my-nominee-for-best-picture-of-the-year-maybe-the-best-picture-ever/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Many things happened in the sixties, but the period is no more significant, better, or more 'political' than today. It's time to turn the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/many-things-happened-in-the-sixties-but-the-period-is-no-more/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [When people in stadiums do the Wave, it's the group-mind collective organism spontaneously organizing itself to express an emotion, pass time, and reflect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/when-people-in-stadiums-do-the-wave-it-s-the-group-mind-collective/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Few contemporary artists mined the space between the ordinary and the strange better than Orozco did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/few-contemporary-artists-mined-the-space-between-the-ordinary-and-the/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [The giant white cube is now impeding rather than enhancing the rhythms of art. It preprograms a viewer's journey, shifts the emphasis from process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/the-giant-white-cube-is-now-impeding-rather-than-enhancing-the/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Art schools are partly the villain here. (Never mind that I teach in them.) This generation of artists is the first to have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/art-schools-are-partly-the-villain-here-never-mind-that-i-teach-in/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [There's one Baldessari work I genuinely love and would like to own, maybe because of my Midwestern roots and love of driving alone. 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/there-s-one-baldessari-work-i-genuinely-love-and-would-like-to-own/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) [Explore all 213 Jerry Saltz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. 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