Vettriano Prices Don’t Indicate Quality

The sale of Jack Vettriano’s painting at a major-league price doesn’t mean its great work. “They are not connected to any enduring artistic value, only to current commercial success and that is a very different thing. Remember when, at the Millennium, the greatest musician of all time was chosen by popular vote? It turned out to be Robbie Williams. He left Mozart, Beethoven and all the rest standing. You can’t compare Vettriano to the great Scottish painters just because of his fancy prices any more than you can compare Williams to Mozart.”

D-Day For Scottish Opera

Scottish Opera’s day of reckoning has come, as its funding fate is being decided. “It has been told it must repay a £4 million advance against its £7.5 million funding from the Scottish Arts Council. One plan on the table is said to involve as many as 80 job losses, including the opera’s staff chorus.”