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Artist Jack Vettriano, best known for his painting The Singing Butler, has died at 73. The self-taught Scottish painter passed away on March 1, 2025 in Nice, France, where he’d lived since 2010. Throughout his career, Vettirano was somewhat of a controversial figure. Largely rejected by critics and academics, his work was embraced by ample sectors of the general public, turning him into one of the best-selling contemporary artists in Europe.
Vettriano’s death was announced via his website and Instagram page. His representatives posted a 2009 self-portrait alongside the message, “It is with great sadness that we share the news of Jack’s passing over the weekend. He was not only an extraordinary artist but also a deeply private and humble man who was endlessly grateful for the support and admiration of those who loved his work. His paintings—capturing moments of intrigue, romance, and nostalgia—touched the hearts of so many around the world, and his legacy will live on through them.”
Born in 1951 in Fife, Vettriano dropped out of school at age 15 to become a mining engineer. About five years later, he was gifted a set of watercolors by a girlfriend, inspiring him to spend the following two decades learning to paint on his own by copying works by artists such as Samuel Peploe and William McTaggart. As he developed a personal style, he dropped his birth last name—Hoggan—for Vettriano, a variation on his mother’s maiden name, distancing himself from his labor as a copyist.
Vettriano rose to fame in 1989 when, after being rejected by the Edinburgh College of Art, he submitted two paintings to the Royal Scottish Academy’s annual exhibition, both of which sold on the very first day, which inspired him to become a full-time artist. The Singing Butler, painted in 1992, turned him into a household name, as the BBC reports that reproductions of the painting were the best-selling art print in the UK. In 2004, the painting sold for £744,800 ($959,674), setting a record for a painting by a Scottish artist at the time.
The Singing Butler depicts a cloudy beach scene in which a couple dressed in 1930s attire dances by the shore while a maid and a butler hold umbrellas—the four characters look away from the viewer. Beyond his most popular work, Vettriano was dismissed by art critics for the shallowness of his compositions, which often depicted women in revealing or little clothes and/or men in elegant suits, plenty of times with a strong charge of eroticism. For all the shunning by the art establishment, his work was well regarded by celebrity patrons such as actor Jack Nicholson, composer Tim Rice, and former soccer coach Alex Ferguson.
Addressing the mixed receptions of Vettriano’s paintings, art critic Eddy Frankel offers an explanation. “He didn’t paint sexy midnight trysts between half-clothed women and Brylcreemed men as a comment on gendered power dynamics or as a riff on art historical depictions of the female nude,” Frankel writes for The Guardian. “He painted them because they were sexy. Contemporary art wants more. It wants depth and nuance. It’s not enough to be nostalgic or sexy. But Vettriano’s answer to that is: ‘Yeah, but it’s so sexy.’ And it’s a good argument.” Frankel adds that Vettriano’s work embodies a “battle between ‘high’ and ‘low that should have ended long ago, but still tediously rages on.”
As luck would have it, Vettriano’s death almost coincided with the auction of a work that symbolizes his influence in the visual history of the UK. Banksy’s 2005 Crude Oil (Vettriano), which plays on the composition of The Singing Butler by trading the maid character for a pair of people in hazmat suits and a drum of toxic waste, was sold for £4.3 million ($5.4 million) to a private buyer two days after Vettriano’s passing after being in musician Mark Hoppus’ collection for well over a decade. “This painting has meant so much to us and been such an amazing part of our lives, and now I’m excited for it to be out there in the world, seen by as many as possible,” said Hoppus.
Artist Jack Vettriano, best known for his painting The Singing Butler, has died at 73.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
The Singing Butler, painted in 1992, turned him into a household name, as reproductions of the painting were the best-selling art print in the UK.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
Vettriano rose to fame in 1989 when he submitted two paintings to the Royal Scottish Academy’s annual exhibition, both of which sold on the very first day.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
Largely rejected by critics and academics, his work was embraced by ample sectors of the general public, turning him into one of the best-selling contemporary artists in Europe.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
“His paintings—capturing moments of intrigue, romance, and nostalgia—touched the hearts of so many around the world, and his legacy will live on through them,” wrote his representatives.
View this post on Instagram
Sources: Jack Vettriano on Instagram; Scottish painter Jack Vettriano dies aged 73; Jack Vettriano: ‘His paintings are like a double cheeseburger in a greasy wrapper’; Singing Butler painter Jack Vettriano dies aged 73; Jack Vettriano, ‘Singing Butler’ Painter, Dies at 73; Banksy take on Vettriano work sells for £4.3m
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