Artist Jack Vettriano's work to be celebrated in Worthing

Worthing's Room With A View gallery is celebrating the art of Jack Vettriano with a special event at its 26 Warwick Street premises.
Jack VettrianoJack Vettriano
Jack Vettriano

Jane Hill invites you to join her and welcome The Honey Gin Company to enjoy an evening of artwork from Vettriano on Thursday, November 22. The event runs from 6.30-8.30pm.

“We will be exhibiting about 30 pieces, and we will be unveiling a new image that has never been seen before.”

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She doesn’t know whether Vettriano will be there in person: “You never know whether he is going to turn up or not.

“He is the highest-selling artist in the world. The establishment didn’t like him for many years, though he has got an OBE and he has painted royalty. He is such an interesting person. He is an ex-engineer who had a passion for art and wanted to do it. He is self-taught which I admire immensely. He has really pulled himself up from the depth of nowhere.”

Admission is free, but attendance needs to be confirmed in advance on 01903 217600; [email protected]. More details on http://roomwithaviewfineart.com.

Jack Vettriano is probably best known for his painting The Singing Butler which was sold at Sotheby’s in 2004 for close to £750,000. He is often referred to as the people’s painter as he is seen as popular with the public but less accepted by the art establishment.

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Born in Fife, Scotland in 1951, Jack Vettriano left school at sixteen to become a mining engineer. For his twenty-first birthday, a girlfriend gave him a set of watercolour paints and, from then on, he spent much of his spare time teaching himself to paint.

In 1989, he submitted two paintings to the Royal Scottish Academy’s annual exhibition; both were accepted and sold on the first day. The following year, an equally-enthusiastic reaction greeted the three paintings, which he entered for the prestigious Summer Exhibition at London’s Royal Academy and his new life as an artist began from that point on.

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