He feels that fame achieved during one's lifetime is meaningless, and that a truly fair appraisal of a person's works can only come after the artist himself has died. Pointing to a recently completed painting of a swimming fish, Wang explains: "The farther off into the corner you put the fish, the more clearly you can see the spaciousness of the sea."
王攀元覺得生前的美名不足為意，死後的評論才見公允。指著自己一張游魚的新作，他表示「魚的位置愈是退隱一角，海的空間愈見遼闊。」