ahead of one's time

Idioms  

1. In advance of current ideas, customs, or methods, as in His treatment of light showed this painter to be well ahead of his time, or Wearing trousers and smoking cigars marked Amy Lowell as a woman ahead of her time. This idiom uses time in the sense of “era” or “generation,” a usage at least a thousand years old. The phrase is usually but not always used to express approval. [First half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

There is a good deal of ambiguity about the stereotyped phrase "ahead of one's time."

From How to Listen to Music, 7th ed. Hints and Suggestions to Untaught Lovers of the Art by Krehbiel, Henry Edward