--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best works do not necessarily get to…" description: "\"The best works do not necessarily get to auction. I like to draw, so maybe I give you a little drawing. And then eventually it ends up at auction. And ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61b/marlene-dumas-28297_artist_the-best-works-do-not-necessarily-get-to_1208710.png" --- # The best works do not necessarily get to auction. I like… ![“The best works do not necessarily get to auction. I like to draw, so maybe I give you a little drawing. And then eventually it ends up at auction. And then critics say, 'Oh, that's a bad drawing!' Well, I didn't say it was so wonderful.” quote by Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61b/marlene-dumas-28297_artist_the-best-works-do-not-necessarily-get-to_1208710.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61b/marlene-dumas-28297_artist_the-best-works-do-not-necessarily-get-to_1208710.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61b/marlene-dumas-28297_artist_the-best-works-do-not-necessarily-get-to_1208710.png) > “The best works do not necessarily get to auction. I like to draw, so maybe I give you a little drawing. And then eventually it ends up at auction. And then critics say, 'Oh, that's a bad drawing!' Well, I didn't say it was so wonderful.” [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Notes that artistic work may be undervalued, yet creators share for personal fulfillment, not acclaim. **In simple terms:** Art is for creation, not validation. Key Takeaway Create for personal satisfaction. Themes art creativity validation Mood introspective creative Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - studio practice - gallery shows - online sharing - private commissions Key Concepts artist’s intent market dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you measure success beyond sales? - What drives you to keep creating? A Different Perspective Commercial success can be fleeting; criticism may discourage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Auction Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auction-critics-3654262/) [Auction Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auction-like-3654264/) [Auctions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auctions/) [Bad Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-drawing-360230/) [Best work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-work/) [Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics/) [Draw Maybe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draw-maybe-3654263/) [Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing/) [Drawing Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing-didn-620867/) [Draws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draws/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) ## Related quotes > [She was a large, disordered woman, like a child's drawing that didn't stay within the lines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/she-was-a-large-disordered-woman-like-a-child-s-drawing-that-didn-t/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [I did a dozen superhero pinups. I signed them "Kirby/Royer" because it was Kirby's drawing. I didn't think I was committing some sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-royer/i-did-a-dozen-superhero-pinups-i-signed-them-kirby-royer-because-it/) [Mike Royer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-royer/) > [But we did see the process develop. I remember going to the Rocket Pictures base and they had something like 40 people there, drawing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-lucas/but-we-did-see-the-process-develop-i-remember-going-to-the-rocket/) [Matt Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-lucas/) > [“... I think I intuitively suspected that perspective would put me outside the painting. I didn't want that. I wanted to get close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-think-i-intuitively-suspected-that-perspective-would-put-me-outside/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Im not really bad at drawing after all :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shhisters/im-not-really-bad-at-drawing-after-all/) [Shhisters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shhisters/) > [I've never seen bad drawing destroy a good idea. On the other hand, I've never seen a good drawing save a bad idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-conrad/i-ve-never-seen-bad-drawing-destroy-a-good-idea-on-the-other-hand-i/) [Paul Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-conrad/) > [Bonnat tells me, 'Your painting isn't bad, it is chic, but even so it isn't bad, but your drawing is absolutely atrocious.' So I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec/bonnat-tells-me-your-painting-isn-t-bad-it-is-chic-but-even-so-it-isn/) [Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec/) > [Keep a bad drawing until by study you have found out why it is bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/keep-a-bad-drawing-until-by-study-you-have-found-out-why-it-is-bad/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [I am very bad at drawing. Seriously. I can draw shoes. That's about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-louboutin/i-am-very-bad-at-drawing-seriously-i-can-draw-shoes-that-s-about-it/) [Christian Louboutin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-louboutin/) > [I am not opposed to the art market. I have lots of friends who are collectors. But the whole idea of the art market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olafur-eliasson/i-am-not-opposed-to-the-art-market-i-have-lots-of-friends-who-are/) [Olafur Eliasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olafur-eliasson/) > [The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-government-consists-of-a-gang-of-men-exactly-like-you-and-me-they/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [In all fairness to the auction companies ? most companies are not car experts, they are marketers. I caution buyers to make sure that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hyman-m-d/in-all-fairness-to-the-auction-companies-most-companies-are-not-car/) [Mark Hyman, M.D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hyman-m-d/) > [The book of the moment often has immense vogue, while the book of the age, which comes in its company from the press, lies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamilton-wright-mabie/the-book-of-the-moment-often-has-immense-vogue-while-the-book-of-the/) [Hamilton Wright Mabie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamilton-wright-mabie/) > [It is not the time to put school districts up for auction. Now is the time to galvanize them into action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/it-is-not-the-time-to-put-school-districts-up-for-auction-now-is-the/) [Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/) > [War's an auction where whoever can pay the most in damage and still be standing wins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/war-s-an-auction-where-whoever-can-pay-the-most-in-damage-and-still/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## More by Marlene Dumas > [I do think that I'm not good at making pretty things. It doesn't come so naturally for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/i-do-think-that-i-m-not-good-at-making-pretty-things-it-doesn-t-come/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) > [At the moment my art is situated between the pornographic tendency to reveal everything and the erotic inclination to hide what it's all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/at-the-moment-my-art-is-situated-between-the-pornographic-tendency-to/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) > [Drawings are only a few lines on paper. Therefore it's easy to carry around in plastic bags. Drawings are cheaper than paintings. They don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/drawings-are-only-a-few-lines-on-paper-therefore-it-s-easy-to-carry/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) > [My best works are erotic displays of mental confusions.. with intrusions of irrelevant information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/my-best-works-are-erotic-displays-of-mental-confusions-with/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) > [I'm always so sick of myself after a show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/i-m-always-so-sick-of-myself-after-a-show/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) > [I have always been interested in how you can depict suffering without being heavy-handed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/i-have-always-been-interested-in-how-you-can-depict-suffering-without/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) > [What a funny thing painting is. The abstract painters always insist on their connection with the visible reality, while the so called figurative artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/what-a-funny-thing-painting-is-the-abstract-painters-always-insist-on/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) > [When Black and White are colors and not races, people will still fall in love and discriminate between partners and feel sad and bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/when-black-and-white-are-colors-and-not-races-people-will-still-fall/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) > [Painting doesn't freeze time. It circulates and recycles time like a wheel that turns. Those who were first might well be last. Painting is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/painting-doesn-t-freeze-time-it-circulates-and-recycles-time-like-a/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) > [There are these painterly things that happen while I'm working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/there-are-these-painterly-things-that-happen-while-i-m-working/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) > [No painting can exist without the tension of what it figures and what it concretely consists of. The pleasure of what it could mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/no-painting-can-exist-without-the-tension-of-what-it-figures-and-what/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) > [There is no beauty, if it doesn't show some of the terribleness of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/there-is-no-beauty-if-it-doesn-t-show-some-of-the-terribleness-of-life/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) > [I am against: general ideas / the nude / the appropriation of images / the mystification of the untitled / the glorification of artistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/i-am-against-general-ideas-the-nude-the-appropriation-of-images-the/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) > [I think I am probably a lot like my father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/i-think-i-am-probably-a-lot-like-my-father/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) > [I don't go to a psychiatrist. I don't go to a gym. I run away from my accountant, I run away from my dentist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dumas/i-don-t-go-to-a-psychiatrist-i-don-t-go-to-a-gym-i-run-away-from-my/) [Marlene Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) [Explore all 19 Marlene Dumas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dumas/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The best works do not necessarily get to auction. I like to draw, so maybe I give you a little drawing. And then eventually it ends up at auction. And then critics say, 'Oh, that's a bad drawing!' 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