Sounding very much like Simon Cowell (b. 1960), British painter C.R.W. Nevinson (1889 - 1946) had some bitter words for the American people and the art market they created.
"Here emphatically they have lost their courage. They are afraid to buy what they like; they rely entirely on the auction-room value. To read the American art news is like reading our "Financial Times". The American art critic has no use for a picture which does not tell a story..."
Nevinson was a Futurist, he is best remembered for his W.W. I paintings of the Western Front, which you can be read about here.
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