How the art establishment has finally clutched Jack Vettriano to its, ahem, bosom
HE has previously criticised the art establishment for snubbing his work.
But Jack Vettriano finally achieved a lifetime first last week when he was included in an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Yet it is not one of his own paintings on display, but a photographic portrait of the artist comissioned by The Scottish Mail on Sunday. The portrait, by Ian McIlgorm, was one of only 50 selected from more than 5,000 entries for the 2017 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait prize.
Fife-born Vettriano, 66, has spoken of his pride at being featured in the leading gallery and also revealed that he is painting again.
The artist endured a three-year hiatus after a fall and struggled with a private battle with alcohol and depression.
He is back at the easel thanks to an unexpected intervention by Sir Billy Connolly and a move south of the Border.
He was commissioned to paint Connolly to mark the Big Yin’s 75th birthday and the comic legend, who has spoken about his own struggles with alcohol, urged Vettriano to stop drinking and choose a ‘better path’.
‘Working on the Billy Connolly project was a turning point for me,’ Vettriano admitted. ‘Talking to Billy and experiencing all the positive feelings when my painting was unveiled made me realise this is what I love to do.
‘Everything’s much more positive for me now. I’m back painting fulltime and I would like to have an exhibition next spring. I am hoping to show 20 new paintings, some that are more like my landscapes and others that are a bit more sexually charged.’
He said the ‘anonymity’ of London had helped his recovery and he had bought the flat above his home as a studio. ‘Living in London is so much better for me. I rarely get stopped.’