- Andrew Vicari
Andrew Vicari (born
20 April 1938 ) is a Welsh painter working in France who has established a career painting portraits of the rich and famous. Despite being largely unknown in his own country,as of 2004 Vicari was Britain's richest living painter.Vicari was born in
Port Talbot ,Wales , but was evacuated toAberdare during theWorld War II . He later attendedNeath Grammar School for Boys. Between 1951-53 he studied painting at theSlade School of Fine Art with Francis Bacon andLucian Freud as teachers. On graduation, Vicari started working in London as a portrait painter. Eschewing modern trends, Vicari has remained a figurative artist working in oil. His work is appreciated worldwide, especially in theMiddle East where three museums are solely dedicated to his work.In 1974 Vicari was appointed as the official painter to the King and Government of
Saudi Arabia . In the following decades he painted many portraits of the Saudi royal family as well as scenes ofRiyadh andBedouin life. It is largely due to this patronage that Vicari owes his financial success. In 2001 he sold a collection of 125 paintings of theFirst Gulf War to Prince Khaled for £17 million.Vicari currently lives and works at his studio outside
Nice ,France , although he also owns apartments in Riyadh and Monte Carlo.His fortune was valued at £92 million in 2006 by the
Sunday Times Rich List [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,20590,00.html] .External links
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,595421,00.html "I am the king of painters", The Guardian, November 16, 2001]
* [http://www.andrew-vicari.com/ Official Website]
* [http://walesvideogallery.org/archive.php?category=23&video=74 Andrew Vicari at the Wales Video Gallery]
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