Vettriano and other Scottish figurative painters flex saleroom muscles
The Stephen Conroy (b.1964) oil on board Figure Study - 2000, signed and dated verso, brought £18,750.
EDINBURGH
.- Several auction records were set for works by some of Scotlands best-known 20th and 21st century painters at international auctioneers Lyon & Turnbulls recent Contemporary & Post-War Art sale held live online on January 27. The auction totalled £630,000 against a top estimate of £510,000, with at least three auction records set. Some 1167 international bidders competed of which 1076 were online leading to a selling rate of 86%.
Leading the pack at a cool £100,000 was Fish Teas by Jack Vettriano (b.1951). Measuring 60 x 50cm, it depicts a smartly dressed man lounging against a railing on a promenade smoking a cigarette, while a woman in a 1950s style dress looks into the distance on a seafront. A saltire flag flies in the background and the words 'Fish Teas' can be seen painted on a wooden shack. Specialist Charlotte Riordan, Head of Contemporary Art, described it as "one of the nicest examples we've seen of Vettriano's work and from a good stage in his career. It received a huge amount of interest prior to the sale, and the steep level of competition could be a sign that the artist's market is potentially climbing back up to the heady prices he commanded ten years ago.