Vettriano studies sold at auction

Edinburgh Reporter

30-05-2025

A group of six studies by the late Scottish artist Jack Vettriano fetched nearly £132,000 at auction in Edinburgh amid a peak in interest in his work following his recent unexpected death.
The oil paintings were completed by Vettriano over a period of more than 20 years and included subjects ranging from a poignant self portrait to one of his iconic racing car scenes.
The works, which led Bonhams' Scottish Art Sale in Edinburgh, were among the first by Vettriano to appear at auction since the artist died in March, aged 73, at his home in Nice in the south of France.
The highlight was Pendine Beach (Study), painted in 1996, which made £44,800. The picture was part of a series by Vettriano featuring racing driver Malcolm Campbell in his land speed record-breaking car Bluebird.
It was commissioned by the late designer and restaurateur Sir Terance Conran and hung in his Bluebird Restaurant in London,
Vettriano's study for 'Self Portrait – Lost Soul', which fetched £11,500, showed the late artist dressed all in black standing with hands in his pockets under a Biblical quote reading: 'For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?'
Meanwhile, the artist's 'Daytona Diner', painted in 1995 as a study for his famous larger work, 'Diner', fetched £14,100, and 'A Letter of Consequence', showing a man examining a note, was sold for £19,200.
Another study titled 'The White Basque' was sold for £28,200 and Vettriano's 1996 painting 'Girls will be Boys' doubled its estimate by making £14,100.
Bonhams, who had worked closely with Vettriano in the past, paid tribute to the 'people's painter' and led the sale with his work.
May Matthews, Managing Director of Bonhams Scotland, said: 'Jack Vettriano's death is a great loss to Scottish art.
'His paintings are distinctive and original and what's more, they are familiar to the person in the street with little or no knowledge of Scottish art. In this he is perhaps unique, and why he has been given the title of 'the people's painter'.
'We've seen a lot of interest in Vettriano's work since his death, and it was no surprise that all six studies sold well.'
Vettriano was born Jack Hoggan, in 1951, and raised in Methil, Fife. He famously took up painting as a hobby after a girlfriend bought him a set of watercolours for his 21st birthday in November 1972.
By the time he came to prominence in 1988, he had adopted his mother's maiden name, Vettriano.
Scotland's most commercially successful artist, his most famous painting, The Singing Butler, with figures dancing on a beach under a cloudy sky, was sold at auction in 2004 for £744,800.
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