The coronavirus crisis has delivered a blow for art lovers with the postponement of an exhibition by one of Scotland’s most celebrated artists.
The keenly anticipated show focusing on the early work of Fife born Jack Vettriano was set to open its doors at Kirkcaldy Galleries in September.
However, ONFife, the body which runs museums and galleries across the region, has postponed it until 2021.
Heather Stuart, chief executive, said: “We are obviously disappointed – both for the public and staff who had been looking forward so much to this major exhibition – but it is only right that we err on the side of caution.”
However, the postponement has brought a silver lining of sorts with the rescheduled show set to run for a further two months than the original.
Working in close liaison with the artist and collectors who are lending works from private collections, the exhibition is now scheduled to run from June 18 to October 24 2021 at Kirkcaldy Galleries.
The new dates cover a longer period than the original 10 – giving more people an opportunity to attend over the summer and October holidays.
The move will also allow ONFife to reduce the number of visitors per time slot and extend the time each person can spend at the exhibition.
“Once the decision was taken to postpone, we looked at how we could use the opportunity to make it an even better experience for visitors,” Heather Stuart added.
All current ticket holders will be contacted to arrange new dates before tickets go on general sale again on June 15.
The exhibition had attracted healthy advance ticket sales and was to feature early paintings by Vettriano, including nearly a dozen produced before he decided to become a full-time artist. They are signed Jack Hoggan, his birth name.
The self-taught artist was turned down by art college but went on to become one of the world’s most highly sought after living painters. Vettriano decided the time was right to publicly acknowledge some of his earliest works and agreed to return to Fife where he was born and spent his formative years, for the exhibition’s first outing.