--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Popular in our time, unpopular in his. So…" description: "\"Popular in our time, unpopular in his. So runs the stereotype of rejected genius.\" — Robert Hughes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/robert-hughes-9113_genius_popular-in-our-time-unpopular-in-his-so_402537.jpg" --- # Popular in our time, unpopular in his. So runs the… ![“Popular in our time, unpopular in his. So runs the stereotype of rejected genius.” quote by Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/robert-hughes-9113_genius_popular-in-our-time-unpopular-in-his-so_402537.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/robert-hughes-9113_genius_popular-in-our-time-unpopular-in-his-so_402537.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/robert-hughes-9113_genius_popular-in-our-time-unpopular-in-his-so_402537.jpg) > “Popular in our time, unpopular in his. So runs the stereotype of rejected genius.” [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights how society often celebrates ideas that become popular later, while the original creator may remain unappreciated during their lifetime. **In simple terms:** Society often rewards ideas after they become popular, ignoring the original creator. Key Takeaway Recognize and support talent before it gains mainstream acceptance. Themes recognition genius societal bias timing legacy Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type analytical observational commentary When to use this quote - art criticism - scientific research - entrepreneurship - creative industries - academic publishing Key Concepts cultural valuation celebrity historical revisionism Questions to Reflect On - How can we better identify and uplift undervalued talent? - What mechanisms cause delayed recognition? A Different Perspective The quote may overlook cases where the creator truly was not ahead of their time, or where popularity reflects genuine merit. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Stereotype](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stereotype/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [People who are not prepared to do unpopular things and defy the clamor of the multitude are not fit to be ministers in time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/people-who-are-not-prepared-to-do-unpopular-things-and-defy-the/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I am not eccentric. It's just that I am more alive than most people. I am an unpopular electric eel set in a pond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/i-am-not-eccentric-it-s-just-that-i-am-more-alive-than-most-people-i/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [I was incredibly unpopular in high school but also extremely notorious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grimes/i-was-incredibly-unpopular-in-high-school-but-also-extremely-notorious/) [Grimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grimes/) > [I didn't mind being unpopular at school, because everyone else was a heathen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-didn-t-mind-being-unpopular-at-school-because-everyone-else-was-a/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [A society in which people feel they have a legitimate right to stop someone expressing their views on campus simply because they are unfashionable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-gyimah/a-society-in-which-people-feel-they-have-a-legitimate-right-to-stop/) [Sam Gyimah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-gyimah/) > [“I don't usually read popular books. Because I know how powerful promotion can be. Most of the time, the great books are hidden from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/i-don-t-usually-read-popular-books-because-i-know-how-powerful/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [I make unpopular versions of popular things. I make a horror film and it's not a horror film. None of my genre movies function…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-harron/i-make-unpopular-versions-of-popular-things-i-make-a-horror-film-and/) [Mary Harron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-harron/) > [Without question the most unpopular medium of musical sound in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-beecham/without-question-the-most-unpopular-medium-of-musical-sound-in-the/) [Thomas Beecham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-beecham/) > [I figured it is always better to be unpopular by your own choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-upton/i-figured-it-is-always-better-to-be-unpopular-by-your-own-choice/) [Tom Upton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-upton/) > [Trump in particular was such an unpopular candidate, because he's so anti communities of color, and we're a minority majority state, are you kidding?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-lujan-grisham/trump-in-particular-was-such-an-unpopular-candidate-because-he-s-so/) [Michelle Lujan Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-lujan-grisham/) > [The more unpopular politicians are, the better people think it is to have a monarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-bradford/the-more-unpopular-politicians-are-the-better-people-think-it-is-to/) [Sarah Bradford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-bradford/) > [I am not concerned about getting reelected. I can make the unpopular but necessary decision. Your focus from day one is on your legacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benigno-aquino-iii/i-am-not-concerned-about-getting-reelected-i-can-make-the-unpopular/) [Benigno Aquino III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benigno-aquino-iii/) > [I think that people who stand up for what they believe in, no matter how unpopular, should be celebrated, not cast aside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-lancaster/i-think-that-people-who-stand-up-for-what-they-believe-in-no-matter/) [Craig Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-lancaster/) > [Well I think that what we're seeing now is that the people feel like they, the people in Congress don't have their consent to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/well-i-think-that-what-we-re-seeing-now-is-that-the-people-feel-like/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) > [The Founding Fathers provided a way to reverse unpopular Supreme Court decisions: a constitutional amendment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-baucus/the-founding-fathers-provided-a-way-to-reverse-unpopular-supreme/) [Max Baucus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-baucus/) ## More by Robert Hughes > [“Most of the time they buy what other people buy. They move in great schools, like bluefish, all identical. There is safety in numbers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/most-of-the-time-they-buy-what-other-people-buy-they-move-in-great/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [The basic project of art is always to make the world whole and comprehensible, to restore it to us in all its glory and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/the-basic-project-of-art-is-always-to-make-the-world-whole-and/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [Confidence is the prize given to the mediocre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/confidence-is-the-prize-given-to-the-mediocre/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [There's no geist like the Zeitgeist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/there-s-no-geist-like-the-zeitgeist/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [A Gustave Courbet portrait of a trout has more death in it than Rubens could get in a whole Crucifixion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/a-gustave-courbet-portrait-of-a-trout-has-more-death-in-it-than/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [“In one sense, (Duchamp's) “The Large Glass” is a glimpse into Hell; a peculiarly modernist Hell of repetition and loneliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/in-one-sense-duchamp-s-the-large-glass-is-a-glimpse-into-hell-a/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [“Indeed, the idea that doubt can be heroic, if it is locked into a structure as grand as that of the paintings of Cezanne's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/indeed-the-idea-that-doubt-can-be-heroic-if-it-is-locked-into-a/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [One thing is sure: the Sagrada Familia is the first Catholic temple whose bacon was ever saved by Shinto tourism. Not even Gaudi, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/one-thing-is-sure-the-sagrada-familia-is-the-first-catholic-temple/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [What strip mining is to nature the art market has become to culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/what-strip-mining-is-to-nature-the-art-market-has-become-to-culture/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [For the machine meant the conquest of horizontal space. It also meant a sense of that space which few people had experienced before –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/for-the-machine-meant-the-conquest-of-horizontal-space-it-also-meant/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [It was a secular cathedral, dedicated to the rites of travel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/it-was-a-secular-cathedral-dedicated-to-the-rites-of-travel/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [“The World's Fair audience tended to think of the machine as unqualifiedly good, strong, stupid and obedient. They thought of it as a giant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/the-world-s-fair-audience-tended-to-think-of-the-machine-as/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [What has our culture lost in 1980 that the avant-garde had in 1890? Ebullience, idealism, confidence, the belief that there was plenty of territory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/what-has-our-culture-lost-in-1980-that-the-avant-garde-had-in-1890/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [On the whole, money does artists much more good than harm. The idea that one benefits from cold water, crusts and debt collectors is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/on-the-whole-money-does-artists-much-more-good-than-harm-the-idea/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [The greater the artist, the greater the doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/the-greater-the-artist-the-greater-the-doubt/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) [Explore all 75 Robert Hughes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) ## More Genius quotes > [“If people fully understand you, they will think of you as a normal, if they half understand you, will think of you as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-people-fully-understand-you-they-will-think-of-you-as-a-normal-if/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Woman, in short, has an unconscious life, man a conscious life, and the genius the most conscious life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/woman-in-short-has-an-unconscious-life-man-a-conscious-life-and-the/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The truth is I've just never had any kind of plan at all for my career, which is probably not a very flattering thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-burrell/the-truth-is-i-ve-just-never-had-any-kind-of-plan-at-all-for-my/) [Ty Burrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-burrell/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I have known many chess players, but among them there has been only one genius - Capablanca!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-lasker/i-have-known-many-chess-players-but-among-them-there-has-been-only/) [Emanuel Lasker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-lasker/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The beginning of genius is being scared shitless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/the-beginning-of-genius-is-being-scared-shitless/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [Treason implies responsibility for something, control over something, influence upon something, knowledge of something. Treason in our time is a proof of genius. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/treason-implies-responsibility-for-something-control-over-something/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/mediocrity-knows-nothing-higher-than-itself-but-talent-instantly/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [With the proper training, I could've been an evil genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/with-the-proper-training-i-could-ve-been-an-evil-genius/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Never try to judge any one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajat-dogra/never-try-to-judge-any-one/) [Rajat Dogra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajat-dogra/) > [“genius is a path that we can all take and derive much benefit, happiness, fulfillment, and success from...not a genetic windfall or divine gift.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-patrick/genius-is-a-path-that-we-can-all-take-and-derive-much-benefit/) [Sean Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-patrick/) [Browse all 5,125 Genius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Popular in our time, unpopular in his. 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