--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They pay thousands and thousands for the…" description: "\"“They pay thousands and thousands for the Van Goghs and Modiglianis they'd have spat on at the time they were painted. Guffawed at. Made coarse jokes a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74e/john-fowles-816_art_they-pay-thousands-and-thousands-for-the_1875251.png" --- # They pay thousands and thousands for the Van Goghs and… ![“They pay thousands and thousands for the Van Goghs and Modiglianis they'd have spat on at the time they were painted. Guffawed at. Made coarse jokes about.” quote by John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74e/john-fowles-816_art_they-pay-thousands-and-thousands-for-the_1875251.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74e/john-fowles-816_art_they-pay-thousands-and-thousands-for-the_1875251.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74e/john-fowles-816_art_they-pay-thousands-and-thousands-for-the_1875251.png) > ““They pay thousands and thousands for the Van Goghs and Modiglianis they'd have spat on at the time they were painted. Guffawed at. Made coarse jokes about.”” [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People pay huge sums for art they once mocked, showing how value perception shifts over time. **In simple terms:** Art’s value changes with public taste. Key Takeaway Recognize that value is often socially constructed. Themes art value perception history Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - art auctions - museum curation - investment decisions Key Concepts cultural economics taste market dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Why do we revalue past works? - How does nostalgia affect pricing? A Different Perspective Market hype can inflate prices beyond intrinsic worth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Conformists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformists/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Although his teeth were so prominent, I think he had a lovely smile. He became self-conscious and embarrassed only when he was having a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hutton/although-his-teeth-were-so-prominent-i-think-he-had-a-lovely-smile-he/) Jim Hutton > [“He guffawed. Motherfucker seriously guffawed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-tash/he-guffawed-motherfucker-seriously-guffawed/) [Red Tash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-tash/) > [“She leaned forward and staggered, as she confided in a whisper, “You’re the sexiest guy I’ve ever seen too. You know, your long, scaly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thea-harrison/she-leaned-forward-and-staggered-as-she-confided-in-a-whisper-you-re/) [Thea Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thea-harrison/) > [“Some killed from murderous conviction. But many others who killed were just afraid to stand out. other forces were at work besides conformism. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/some-killed-from-murderous-conviction-but-many-others-who-killed-were/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“But without the conformists, the great atrocities would have been impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/but-without-the-conformists-the-great-atrocities-would-have-been/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [Cat people are different, to the extent that they generally are not conformists. How could they be, with a cat running their lives?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/cat-people-are-different-to-the-extent-that-they-generally-are-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anti-social behavior is a trait of intelligence in a world full of conformists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/anti-social-behavior-is-a-trait-of-intelligence-in-a-world-full-of/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [“We need more people speaking out. This country is not overrun with rebels & free thinkers. It's overrun with sheep & conformists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/we-need-more-people-speaking-out-this-country-is-not-overrun-with/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [If children were brought up to become non-conformists it would only ruin their lives. 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Keep throwing berries, Twigs, And nuts at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/fruits-and-nuts-keep-jumping-around-them-like-monkeys-the-clones/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“There is no art in celebrity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-freestone/there-is-no-art-in-celebrity/) [Jack Freestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-freestone/) > [Only conformists are ever adored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-breillat/only-conformists-are-ever-adored/) [Catherine Breillat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-breillat/) > [Today it is the skeptics who are the social conformists, though because of powerful intellectual propaganda they continue to enjoy thinking of themselves as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/today-it-is-the-skeptics-who-are-the-social-conformists-though/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) ## More by John Fowles > [I am infinitely strange to myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/i-am-infinitely-strange-to-myself/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [I do not plan my fiction any more than I normally plan woodland walks; I follow the path that seems most promising at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/i-do-not-plan-my-fiction-any-more-than-i-normally-plan-woodland-walks/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“The sky is absolutely empty. Beautifully pure and empty. As if the architects and builders would live in all the houses they built! Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-sky-is-absolutely-empty-beautifully-pure-and-empty-as-if-the/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“The evolution of human mentality has put us all in vitro now, behind the glass wall of our own ingenuity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-evolution-of-human-mentality-has-put-us-all-in-vitro-now-behind/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [Most marriages recognize this paradox: Passion destroys passion; we want what puts an end to wanting what we want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/most-marriages-recognize-this-paradox-passion-destroys-passion-we/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [That is the great distinction between the sexes. 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It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/liking-other-people-is-an-illusion-we-have-to-cherish-in-ourselves-if/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [Do you know that every great thing in the history of art and every beautiful thing in life is actually what you call nasty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/do-you-know-that-every-great-thing-in-the-history-of-art-and-every/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“Yet this distance, all those abysses unbridged and then unbridgeable by radio, television, cheap travel and the rest, was not wholly bad. People knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/yet-this-distance-all-those-abysses-unbridged-and-then-unbridgeable/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) [Explore all 341 John Fowles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) ## 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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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": "“They pay thousands and thousands for the Van Goghs and Modiglianis they'd have spat on at the time they were painted. 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