Jack Vettriano - Career

Career

In 1988, Vettriano submitted two canvases for the Royal Scottish Academy annual show. Both paintings sold on the first day and Vettriano was approached by several galleries who wanted to sell his other work. Further successful exhibitions followed in Edinburgh, London, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, and New York. His paintings are reminiscent of the film noir genre, often with romantic or nude themes.

His easel paintings cost between $48,000 and $195,000 new, but he is thought to make more money from the sale of reproductions. According to The Guardian, he earns £500,000 a year in print royalties. Each year a new set of limited edition prints are published, and his most popular work, The Singing Butler sells more posters and postcards than any other artist in the UK. On 21 April 2004 the original canvas of The Singing Butler sold at auction for £744,500. It had been rejected in 1992 by the Royal Academy summer exhibition.

In November 1999, Vettriano’s work was shown for the first time in New York, when 21 paintings were displayed at The International 20th Century Arts Fair at The Armory. More than forty collectors from the UK flew out for the event and all twenty-one paintings were sold on the opening night to British collectors.

In 1996, Sir Terence Conran commissioned Vettriano to create a series of paintings for his new Bluebird Club in London. The seven paintings inspired by the life of Sir Malcolm Campbell hung in the Club for ten years. Heartbreak Publishing, Vettriano's own publishing company, produced a boxed set featuring signed, limited edition prints of all seven paintings to mark the 75th anniversary of Sir Malcolm Campbell's final World Land Speed Record. The Bluebird paintings were put up for sale at Sotheby's on 30 August 2007 and made more than £1m. The most expensive was Bluebird at Bonneville, bought for £468,000 at a Sotheby's auction held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire. This painting is considered the "most iconic" of the series.

Vettriano has studios in Scotland and London. He was represented by the Portland Gallery, London from 1993 to 2007 and counts Jack Nicholson, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Tim Rice and Robbie Coltrane amongst his collectors. To date, five books have been published about Jack Vettriano, the most recent of which is entitled 'Studio Life' and was published in March 2008.

In 2008 Vettriano painted a portrait of Zara Phillips MBE (horse rider and granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II) as part of a charity fund-raising project for Sport Relief 2008. The painting is entitled 'Olympia' and was auctioned later that year at a charity fund-raising auction. All proceeds from the charity auction went to Sport Relief, an initiative of Comic Relief charity. This portrait project was featured in a BBC programme Sport Portraits shown on March 10, 2008.

In February 2009, Vettriano launched his own publishing company, Heartbreak Publishing, which generates copyrighted, Vettriano-brand catalogues, greeting cards, and prints, and his own London gallery also called Heartbreak which exclusively represents him, and also seeks to "help promote edgy, younger artists" in an attempt to "start a fire".

In March 2010, 'Days Of Wine And Roses', was opened by First Minister, Alex Salmond, at the Kirkcaldy Museum in Fife, Scotland. It received more than 48,000 visitors during its five week run there. The exhibition then transferred to his galley Heartbreak, in London.

On Wednesday 24 March 2010, Sir Jackie Stewart presented Vettriano with the Great Scot of the Year Award. The award ceremony was held at the Boisedale Club in London. The award led MSP Ted Brocklebank to file a Motion in Parliament calling for Vettriano's contribution to Scottish culture to be recognised.

In April 2010 Seven out of ten paintings by Vettriano failed to sell at Sotheby's spring auction of Scottish pictures. Those that sell sold for half their previous prices. The Scotsman suggested collectors who bought his paintings as investments could be seriously out of pocket if they put their purchases back on the open market.

In December 2010, Vettriano was asked by First Minister, Alex Salmond to create his official Christmas card "Let's Twist Again" which was sold at auction for the benefit of four Scottish charities in February at The Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews with the First Minister attending. With the painting and Limited Edition sales combined, just under £100,000 was raised for four Scottish charities.

In February 2011 it was announced that Vettriano's self-portrait, "The Weight" would be displayed at the re-opened Scottish National Portrait Gallery from November 2011. First Minister, Alex Salmond said: “I warmly welcome the announcement that "The Weight" by Jack Vettriano will go on display at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. Jack truly deserves this honour. He is a wonderful artist of considerable talent and achievement and this is a magnificent tribute to the special place he holds in the hearts of people in Scotland.”

In May 2011, "The Ballroom Spy" opened at Vettriano's gallery Heartbreak - a new exhibition by Vettriano in collaboration with the photographer, Jeanette Jones. In July 2011, the exhibition transferred to the Royal West Academy of Arts in Bristol which was viewed as a controversial choice by many.

In January 2012, the luxury menswear brand, Stefano Ricci, launched their Spring Summer 2012 collection with a campaign inspired by the work of Jack Vettriano. Their SS 2012 catalogue, entitled 'Stefano Ricci - a tribute to Vettriano', features images by Vettriano and photographic re-interpretations shot by Fredi Marcarini and featuring clothes and accessories from the Ricci 2012 collection. A short film about the 2012 Vettriano campaign has been presented by Ricci to commemorate the collaboration.

In February 2012, Vettriano's most famous painting, The Singing Butler went on display at the Aberdeen City Art Gallery as part of an exhibition entitled, From Van Gogh to Vettriano.