Jack Vettriano is one of Scotland's most successful artists.
His expertise at creating popular and memorable images, which have been bought in their thousands in the form of prints, posters and other merchandise, has meant that this self-taught painter, who overcame rejection by Edinburgh College of Art to forge his career, is one of the handful of Scottish contemporary artists whose work is known worldwide.
Vettriano, who only became a professional painter in his late 30s, has had to endure a degree of flak over the years. The artistic value of his paintings has long been disputed by art critics and curators, but not, it has to be said, by the public, which he sees as his main audience. His emphasis on figurative depictions of men and women, often in period settings, has divided opinion.
Indeed, for some time, it appeared Vettriano would not be honoured in his own country, beyond this native Fife, with a major exhibition. But recently the National Galleries of Scotland displayed a self-portrait, and now, with next week's opening of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum's major retrospective, he can feel both celebrated, and validated, finally, in the land of his birth.
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