On April 21, 2004 the original canvas of The Singing Butler, Jack Vettriano's most reproduced painting, sold at auction for $1,346,800. This recognition of his talents and work was a noteworthy milestone for someone who grew up in a small mining village near Kirkcaldy, Scotland, with little expectation to grow beyond its limits.
Born November 15 1951, his given name was Jack Hoggen, Vettriano was his mothers maiden name. True to form, Vettriano left school at age 16 and began training as an apprentice mining engineer.
As a youth, he enjoyed drawing and sketching but his artistic endeavours took a more serious turn when on his twenty-first birthday a girlfriend bought him a set of watercolours. He would go to the local library and there wasn't a lot of art books there, just a few impressionists and some of the Italian masters. He decided that the only real way was to copy what was done. His first was Monet's Poppy Fields. Vettriano is completely self taught. He eventually married, purchased a home, and settled down.
After painting on his own for several years, he applied to Edinburgh University and Edinburgh College of Art but was rejected. "In retrospect," he says, "that was a blessing in disguise because I think that unfortunately, but understandably, a lecturer is trying to turn a student into his own image that's part of why he's a lecturer, because he wants to impart his knowledge into you. If I'd have gone I just wouldn't be where I am now."
A pivotal point came when, in his thirties, Vettriano decided to dedicate himself to his art and to contemplate the ideas behind it. His marriage broke down under the pressure of his ambition, he quit his job, moved, and changed his name.
Though frequently snubbed and dismissed by art critics, he is popular with legions of collectors and has become tremendously successful on a commercial scale. His work evokes an atmosphere reminiscent of the great noir movies and novels of our time. His paintings are set in bars and clubs, seaside's, racetracks, ballrooms and bedrooms. They speak directly to the viewer in a language easy to feel and understand, hence his widespread appeal.
Jack Vettriano is a hugely successful artist in commercial terms. His originals sell for tens of thousands, and often to high profile buyers. But it’s his prints and posters that really make the money. His most famous painting, The Singing Butler, sells more prints then any other work of art. Second would be Vettriano’s Mad Dogs. The money and success must soften the blow of his detractors, who describe his work as badly conceived soft porn. Prominent critics dismiss his works with such comments as “ he is welcome to paint, as long as nobody takes him seriously. But it is clear that Jack craves acceptance from the art critics. “Show me the artist, he says, who doesn’t want to be recognized by his peers, and I will show you a liar”.
Links
Portland GalleryBiography wrote by Da'Moon (CL4)