The painter Jack Vettriano moved some four years ago from Scotland
to London, and now lives and works in Chelsea. Vettriano’s
maternal grandfather came to Scotland from Italy and drew with a
skill which the young Vettriano sought emulate. Self-taught and
the son of a Fife coal miner, he eventually enrolled in night classes,
inspired by his then mentor and girlfriend, primary school teacher
Ruth McIntosh. In the traditional way, Vettriano taught himself
to paint by copying the work of Old Masters. In the late l980s,
drawing inspiration from film noir, he began to be noticed in Edinburgh.
He was championed by the established critic W Gordon Smith. Dr Duncan
Macmillan, established historian of Scottish art, begs to differ,
and will not acknowledge any skill other than one of populist depiction.
Edinburgh duly turned its back on Vettriano, but dealer Tom Hewlett
took him up. Vettriano appeals to individuals who have made their
personal mark and make their own decisions. Sir Terence Conran commissioned
Vettriano to paint the group of oils hanging in his Bluebird Club
Restaurant. In New York and London, Vettriano’s moody Hopperesque
paintings of suave females and louche males continue to sell off
the easel now for around 40,000. Scotland always seems to complain
when an initially rejected artist hits the trail of success, southwards
and mid-Atlantic, implying some kind of betrayal. But if Vettriano
had stayed in Scotland, he would have continued to be pilloried
and denigrated by those who know. Or buried in Kirkcaldy. The book,
Lovers and Strangers: Paintings by Jack Vettriano, edited by Anthony
Quinn, (Pavilion Books) was published in July.
