Enid Hutt Gallery blog - Art and Artists News - Jack Vettriano category

Vote for your favourite modern artist in The Times

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:58:00 GMT

The Times newspaper, in association with the Saatchi Gallery, are running a poll to find out who is the Nation's favourite modern artist working since 1900 and have compiled a list on-line from which to vote or you can nominate your favourite artist, if yours in not included on their list.

Listed are some of the most influential painters, sculptors, photographers, video and installation artists of the period with the likes of Jack Vettriano, Doug Hyde and Rolf Harris included to name a few – simply click on each name to learn more about them.

You can vote on-line for your favourite artist by going to The Times On-Line via the link below. The top 200 artists will be announced in The Times in May 2009.

But be quick- you have only today or tomorrow to register your vote, as voting closes on Wednesday 18th February 2009.

Times On-line - Favourite Artists Poll

Invest in Art

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 01:49:51 GMT

Art critics and financial experts are in agreement and according to 'Alvin Hall's World of Money' (BBC Radio 4, August 2008) the art market is enjoying a miracle year. Godfrey Barker of the Evening Standard commented that 'when the stock market under performs, the art market starts singing and dancing'. There was strong evidence to back this claim when a recent Sotheby’s auction of Damian Hirst’s work raised over £70 million. Barker believes that the art market will continue to defy the current trends and will remain buoyant. To find out more about investing in art, contact us to make an appointment with one of our expert art consultants, or drop by the gallery.

At the Enid Hutt Gallery we offer limited edition prints for purchase by artists who's original artwork may be out of reach financially. Today's modern printing techniques combined with the finest light-fast inks and beautiful art paper or canvas, give a result that could only have been dreamed of just a few years ago and mean you don't have to compromise when buying a limited edition print.

Sometimes a limited edition is the only choice if one is ever to own a piece by say Jack Vettriano, Todd White or Alexander Millar Of course, everyone would like to have an original but when that can cost anything up to between five and ten times as much as a limited edition it is simply unrealistic for most. I once spoke with a lady who's friend was gifted a painting by a world famous artist and unfortunately had to return it as they could not afford the insurance to cover it. So not only are some original pieces out of reach financially but even keeping one could be too.

Personally I would prefer a good quality limited edition print over a cheap original but many lesser expensive originals are by excellent up and coming artists so you have to define what is 'cheap'.

If you ever do purchase, it must be of value to you personally as well, it has to jump out and grab you and of course price is another consideration, but if I had the choice between an original by an unknown artist or a limited edition print by say Jack Vettriano, I would go for the Vettriano.

It will always be argued that limited editions are not a good investment. The answer to that is simple. No art, original or otherwise, is a guaranteed investment but is a great one if you calculate the value of pleasure it will give you over the years. It is well reported, that most often than not, limited edition prints by well established artists which are sold after the edition is sold out, make a considerable price increase, even double the original value.

Click here to visit our collection of limited edition prints

New Jack Vettriano Limited Edition Prints

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:29:00 GMT

We are delighted to be able to announce the release of an exclusive collection of 5 new images from the UK's most popular, and yet most controversial, contemporary artists.

The exclusive 5 new images 3 of which were taken from the Love, Devotion and Surrender exhibition shown at the Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery in June 2006 are each limited to a very small edition of only 250 copies worldwide. A stunning example of Vettriano’s work, these chosen images are already popular with his many fans and in particular featured in the collection is one of the most meaningful paintings to Jack, ‘Long Time Gone’ which features Methil power station which is scheduled to be demolished soon.

Click here to see the collection

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.

Over the last twenty years, interest in Vettriano's work has grown consistently. There have been sell-out solo exhibitions in Edinburgh, London, Hong Kong and New York.

2004 was an exceptional year in Vettriano's career; his best known painting, The Singing Butler was sold at Sotheby's for close to £750,000; he was awarded an OBE for Services to the Visual Arts and was the subject of a South Bank Show documentary, entitled 'Jack Vettriano: The People's Painter'.

From 1994-2007, Vettriano was represented by Portland Gallery in London but the relationship ended in June 2007. Since then, Vettriano has been focusing on a variety of private projects, including the launch of a new book, and painting of a portrait of Zara Phillips as part of a charity fund-raising project for Sport Relief, the experience of which was captured in a documentary broadcast on BBC1 in March 2008.

Vettriano divides his time between his homes in Fife, London and Nice.