Jack Vettriano: Career profile

Published on Wednesday 25 November 2009 22:04

BORN in Fife in 1951, Jack Vettriano left school at 16 to become a mining engineer. He famously taught himself to paint, aged 21, when a girlfriend gave him watercolour set.

He first showed his pictures at a small gallery in Dunkeld. He dates the start of his professional career to 1989, when two paintings were accepted and rapidly sold at the Royal Scottish Academy's, annual exhibition in Edinburgh.

In 1992, his first Edinburgh gallery show sold out with queues down Dundas Street. His Edinburgh International Festival show in 1994 was opened by Sir Tim Rice and one in Newcastle-upon-Tyne was opened by Valerie Singleton. Sell-out solo exhibitions followed in Edinburgh, London, Hong Kong and New York.

Huge successes – and some major embarrassments – followed. After The Singing Butler sold for 750,000, on the back of millions of print and poster sales world-wide, Vettriano faced claims its central figures were copied from an artists' illustration book.

Vettriano divides his time between Fife, London, and Nice. He was represented by Portland Gallery in London for 15 years until 2007.