Jack Vettriano his work and collections.

The Art Portfolio of Romsey celebrates the work of one of Britain’s most popular living artists, ‘The People’s Painter’, Jack Vettriano. The UK’s largest ever retrospective of Vettriano’s prints features an exceptional collection of five new signed limited editions taken from his latest series of paintings, three of which are based on a French Riviera theme. There will be many rare editions for sale including the hugely popular Along Came a Spider.

Jack Vettriano was born in Fife, Scotland in 1951 and left school at the age of 16 to become a mining engineer. Vettriano experimented with drawing figures in his teenage years, but was first encouraged to paint when a girlfriend bought him a set of paints at the age of 21. Vettriano spent the next 14 years teaching himself to paint, gaining inspiration from his local town of Kirkcaldy and in particular the local art gallery, The Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery.

The turning point in Vettriano’s career came in 1989 when two paintings were accepted for the Royal Scottish Academy’s annual exhibition in Edinburgh. Both paintings were sold on the first day of the Exhibition and marked the beginning of Vettriano’s new career as a full time artist. The following year, an equally enthusiastic reaction greeted the three paintings which he entered for the prestigious Summer Exhibition at London’s Royal Academy. His new life as an artist began.

In November 1999, Vettriano’s work was shown for the first time in New York, when twenty paintings were displayed at The Fifth Armory, Park Lane. Fifty collectors from the UK flew out for the opening night of the Fair and all twenty paintings were sold out within an hour of the opening. Jack Vettriano’s most recognisable painting, The Singing Butler, which was originally rejected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, sold at Sotheby’s in April 2004 for £744,500.

Vettriano has become a phenomena, and there has been a huge media interest in his life and work. In 2003 he was awarded an OBE for Services to the Visual Arts and was subject of a South Bank Show documentary, ‘Jack Vettriano: The People’s Painter’. He has also received an honorary degree from the University of St. Andrews. In the last 25 years Jack Vettriano has had a number of sell out Exhibitions in Edinburgh, London, New York, Hong Kong and Johannesburg. His work is collected by the likes of Jack Nicholson, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Tim Rice and Robbie Coltrane.

Loved by the public but often dismissed by the critics, major art galleries refuse to hang Vettriano’s paintings. Peter Howson, one of Scotland’s most respected living painters, attacks both art critics and curators for their scorn of Vettriano’s work. “If Tracey Emin, Martin Creed and Damien Hirst can get into the Tate, the Jack Vettriano deserves to be in national collections as well - I think the elite really have a fear of him.” Vettriano has commented “I’m often dragged into the debate about whether my work should be shown in public collections and whilst I feel that this is for others to decide… I’m delighted that fans of my paintings will now be able to see a body of work of which I’m very proud”.

Vettriano’s discovery of painting has led him to become one of the most popular artists of our time, and an inspirational figure to many. His figurative oil paintings present a nostalgic commentary, often with an air of romance and sensuality that has an almost universal appeal. His figures describe an intense state of affairs, creating a narrative which is left for the viewer to ponder. Jack Vettriano divides his time between his homes in Fife, London and Nice. “Lovers, Strangers and Stories” gives the public the chance to have their very own signed limited edition Vettriano. This is one art exhibition certainly not to be missed.

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