A unique work by street artist Banksy, ‘Crude Oil (Vettriano)’, was sold for close to 4.3 million pounds ($5.5 million) at a Sotheby’s sale in London on Tuesday. The painting reworks the famous ‘The Singing Butler’ by Scottish artist Jack Vettriano. The sale follows just one day after news of Vettriano’s death at the age of 73.
Vettriano’s own painting, ‘The Singing Butler’, which shows a pair of formally dressed people dancing on the wind-swept beach with the help of a butler and a maid, both carrying umbrellas, broke a Scottish record in 2004 at £744,800 and broke into the UK’s top-selling print reproduction, outselling even those by Monet and Van Gogh. Banksy’s take, titled ‘Crude Oil (Vettriano)’ or ‘Toxic Beach’, remakes the scene with an oil tanker sinking in the background and two figures in hazmat suits rolling a barrel of poisonous rubbish onto the beach.
Sotheby’s defined the artwork as an expression of contemporary 21st-century concerns such as pollution, the environment, and capitalism. “Banksy employed his signature sense of humour and irony to create a work that addresses contemporary issues of the 21st century, including the environment, pollution and the capitalist landscape,” they commented. “The artwork was more relevant today than ever before due to the mounting number of natural disasters.”
The work of art initially debuted during Banksy’s 2005 exhibition ‘Crude Oils: A Gallery of Re-mixed Masterpieces, Vandalism and Vermin’. Mark Hoppus, US musician and Blink-182 co-founder, had bought it for his family and subsequently sold the painting. Hoppus spoke of his personal connection to the painting, saying, “It’s witnessed laughter and tears and parties and fights. Our son has grown up in front of it.” He also said he intended to spend some of the money to buy pieces from up-and-coming artists.
The sale came as tributes were paid to Vettriano, whose paintings won over the commercial market despite their rejection by the art elite. Even though he was a popular artist, Vettriano continued to be dismissive of his critics, once attributing their dislike of him to their huge commercial success. In 2015, he repelled critics who had condemned his work as ‘brainless’ and ‘dim erotica’, saying they didn’t enjoy an artist “who is as popular as me because it cuts down on part of their authority.”
Vettriano, who came from a poor background in an industrial coastal town in eastern Scotland, started his art life later in life. He began painting after being given a box of watercolors for his 21st birthday. Although he lacked elite approval, his paintings adorned homes and galleries across the globe.
Banksy, famous for his uncompromising murals and stenciled works of art, is one of the most mysterious artists alive today. He typically gives a social or political message in his paintings, and has sold some of his paintings for tens of millions of dollars at auction.
Mark Hoppus, along with the sale, will contribute a portion of the proceeds to two Los Angeles medical charities and the California Fire Foundation, supporting victims of wildfires earlier in the year.