4 h. ago Jack Vettriano: ‘His paintings are like a double cheeseburger in a greasy wrapper’

The Scot painted singing butlers, ‘broads’ in bras and tough guys in suits, in works critics found lurid, chintzy, devoid of irony and often sexist. But they were also hugely popular – showing the power of ‘I get it’ artJack Vettriano: a life in picturesIn 1992, Jack Vettriano’s painting The Singing Butler was rejected by the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Anyone who has seen some of the dross picked for display in the RA’s annual open submission collision of amateur artists and big stars in recent decades will be thinking: “Ouch, must’ve been a real dud.” But The Singing Butler not only wasn’t a dud, it went on to become one of the most ubiquitous and – whisper it – iconic British paintings since the second world war.And that tells you a lot about the Scottish artist, who has died at the age of 73. The art establishment has always despised him, but the rest of the world – if you can accept some awkward, problematic conception of “ordinary people” – absolutely lapped up his art. H...

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7 h. ago Jack Vettriano's Billy Connolly mural in Glasgow was 'highlight of his career'

Vettriano, who sadly passed away on Saturday, was one of three Scottish artists to paint a mural of Billy Connolly to mark his 75th birthday back in 2017

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7 h. ago Jack Vettriano's mural of Billy Connolly in Glasgow was 'highlight of his career'

Vettriano, who sadly passed away on Saturday, was one of three Scottish artists to paint a mural of Billy Connolly to mark his 75th birthday back in 2017

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7 h. ago 'Evocative and timeless': Tributes to artist Jack Vettriano, who went from the mines of Fife to worldwide fame

Painter enjoyed remarkable commercial success amid backlash from art establishment

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7 h. ago Jack Vettriano dies aged 73: Revered Scottish artist famous for The Singing Butler found dead in France

Painter best known for his work The Singing Butler was found dead at his apartment in Nice on Saturday

Events

8 h. ago Jack Vettriano dies aged 73: Revered Scottish artist famous for work The Singing Butler found dead in France

Painter best known for his work The Singing Butler was found dead at his apartment in Nice on Saturday

Events

9 h. ago Jack Vettriano dead aged 73: Scottish painter behind beloved The Singing Butler masterpiece passes away in France

Vettriano, who was born Jack Hoggan on November 17, 1951, in Methil, Fife, was found on Saturday.

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9 h. ago Jack Vettriano dies aged 73: Influential Scottish painter famous for The Singing Butler found dead in France

Painter was found dead at his apartment in Nice on Saturday

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9 h. ago Jack Vettriano: Renowned Scottish painter found dead in French apartment, aged 73

Jack Vettriano - whose 1992 painting The Singing Butler became Britain’s best-selling image - has died

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9 h. ago Scottish artist Jack Vettriano found dead in French apartment, aged 73

Vettriano, who was born Jack Hoggan on November 17, 1951, in Methil, Fife, was found on Saturday, the publicist said.

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9 h. ago Jack Vettriano death: Scottish painter behind iconic The Singing Butler found dead at French apartment

Painter was renowned for his work ‘The Singing Butler’

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54 h. ago From Unforgiven to The Firm: Guardian writers pick their favourite Gene Hackman movies

After the death of the esteemed actor, writers highlight their favourite movies from a long and varied career‘He let us hate him’: Gene Hackman had a rare power – he didn’t need to be likedAlmost five minutes go by in The French Connection before we get a good look at Gene Hackman. Various other operators come and go in William Friedkin’s gritty and unsettling procedural – based on a real heroin sting – before Hackman’s Detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle emerges from behind an ill-fitting undercover Santa Claus outfit, like a background player busting into his first lead role. It’s as fitting an entrance as ever for Hackman, leveling up after his supporting work on TV and films like Bonnie and Clyde. And he gives a performance that sets the tone for his whole career, playing the brutal and racist cop, a morally murky figure who just doesn’t sit right as the hero of the story. Many of the qualities that made Hackman so great in later villainous roles – the way he moves like a menace with...

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