Drifters is a signed limited edition silkscreen by celebrated Scottish artist Jack Vettriano, presenting one of the sophisticated, psychologically charged encounters for which his work became internationally recognised.
A formally dressed man and woman meet in the subdued interior of a bar or café. Their proximity suggests intimacy, yet Vettriano leaves their relationship deliberately unresolved. The man's dark suit and the woman's elegant coat are silhouetted against the geometric window behind them, while the restrained palette reinforces the atmosphere of a private moment caught in passing.
Published in 2004, Drifters belongs to the period in which Vettriano's imagery of relationships, desire and ambiguity had become firmly established. The composition demonstrates his characteristically cinematic approach, with carefully positioned figures, controlled lighting and an implied narrative that remains for the viewer to complete.
Details
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Artist: Jack Vettriano OBE (Scottish, 1951-2025)
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Title: Drifters
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Date: 2004
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Medium: Limited edition silkscreen on paper
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Edition: 58/295
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Signature: Signed in pencil lower right
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Numbering: Numbered 58/295 in pencil lower left
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Image size: 51 × 41 cm (20.1 × 16.1 in)
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Framed size: 88 × 78 cm (34.6 × 30.7 in)
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Presentation: Mounted and framed in the original frame, behind low-reflection glass
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Condition: Very good. Presented in the original frame, mounted and behind low-reflection glass.
About Drifters
Drifters was published in 2004 as a signed limited edition silkscreen of 295, with a further 30 artist's proofs. Published catalogue records for the edition describe it as printed on heavyweight Velin Arches Blanc paper.
The subject sits squarely within Vettriano's distinctive visual world. Elegantly dressed figures inhabit an environment suggestive of a hotel bar, café or restaurant, but the artist provides little explanation of who they are or what has brought them together. This narrative ambiguity became one of the defining characteristics of his work.
About the Artist
Jack Vettriano was born Jack Hoggan in Methil, Fife, in 1951. Largely self-taught, he began painting seriously after receiving a set of watercolours in the 1970s and developed his technique through studying and copying the work of earlier artists.
His breakthrough came in 1988 when he submitted two paintings to the Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition and both sold on the opening day. He subsequently developed a highly recognisable figurative style influenced by cinema, popular culture and the visual language of mid-20th-century glamour.
During the 1990s and 2000s he exhibited extensively and developed an exceptional popular following in Britain and internationally. His best-known painting, The Singing Butler, sold for £744,800 at Sotheby's in 2004. That same year Vettriano was appointed OBE for services to the visual arts.
A major retrospective at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow in 2013-14 attracted more than 120,000 visitors. Vettriano died in Nice, France, in March 2025, aged 73.
