Banksy’s reimagining of a famous work by the late Scottish painter Jack Vettriano has sold at auction for £4.3m.
“Crude Oil (Vettriano)” was listed by Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus, who acquired the painting in 2011.
The sale to a private collector at Sotheby’s in London on Tuesday evening (4 March) came just days after Vettriano was found dead aged 73 at his apartment in Nice, France. It is understood that there are no suspicious circumstances around his death.
Banksy’s work was first seen in the reclusive artist’s landmark 2005 exhibition Crude Oils: A Gallery of Re-mixed Masterpieces, Vandalism and Vermin, and reimagines Vettriano’s 1992 work “The Singing Butler”, already one of the most celebrated pictures in Britain.
Banksy chose to subvert Vettriano’s romantic narrative by incorporating themes of pollution, capitalism and the climate crisis, painting in a sinking oil liner and two men in hazmat suits wheeling a barrel of toxic waste along the beach – while the original couple dance as their butler holds a black umbrella over their heads.
Hoppus said that he and Skye fell in love with the painting from the first moment they saw it: “[It’s] unmistakably Banksy, but different. We bought it because we loved it,” he said. “It’s borne witness to our family over these past dozen years.
“It hung over the table in London where we ate breakfast and our son did his homework. It hung in our living room in Los Angeles. It’s seen laughter and tears and parties and arguments. Our son has grown up in front of it,” he continued.
“This painting has meant so much to us and been such an amazing part of our lives, and now I’m excited for it to be out there in the world, seen by as many as possible. Go get ‘em. Godspeed.”
His love of art was inspired by an art history professor at his local college in California: “He loved art but wasn’t precious about it,” he recalled.
“Art was for everyone. And everyone should love it. And because he loved it, and showed us how to think about it, I loved it. It opened my mind. It was Good Will Hunting but with paintings and architecture instead of poetry.”
A portion of the funds raised from the sale will go towards supporting the charities Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Cedars Sinai Haematology Oncology Research.
The couple will also donate some of the proceeds to the California Fire Foundation, following the devastating wildfires that destroyed parts of the city earlier this year.
Vettriano’s publicist said in a statement this week: “Jack Vettriano’s passing marks the end of an era for contemporary Scottish art. His evocative and timeless works will continue to captivate and inspire future generations.”
