Scottish artist Jack Vettriano is famed for photrealistic oil paintings portraying cinematic, romantic, and erotically charged scenes, often with a melancholic atmosphere. Dubbed the “people’s painter,” Vettriano received an Officer of the Order of the British Empire award in visual arts in 2003, and a 2013–14 retrospective at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum attracted a record number of visitors to the institution. Vettriano took up painting in the 1970's as a hobby, copying works by the Old Masters, Impressionists, and Surrealists. His breakout moment came in 1988, when two of his paintings were shown at the Royal Scottish Academy’s Annual Exhibition and sold on the first day. One of these works, The Singing Butler, is among his most famous. The depiction of a couple dancing on the beach flanked by servants proffering umbrellas sold for $1,192,715 at auction in 2004, a record for any Scottish artist at the time.