Painting turns OAP into VIP
Published on: 09-Nov-2007
A picture painted 50 years ago has turned an ordinary pensioner into a VIP for the day.Andy Samson, 65, was greeted like a star by art experts at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh, because of a portrait of him made by Joan Eardley, the Northern Echo reports.
The work, later sold to a private buyer for £86,000, was just one of a number of pictures by the late artist featuring in a major display.
Fans of her work asked Mr Samson how he came to pose for the work, entitled Andrew with a Comic, when he was a 10-year-old living in a Glasgow tenement block.
He explained that Ms Eardley, after seeing Andrew looking at her as she pushed her pram full of paints and brushes round the tenements, asked if he would like to pose for her.
Commenting on all the attention he received at the exhibition, Mr Samson told the paper: "It was strange being in the centre of things, having people staring at me and asking questions."
This follows the record-breaking sale of Matisse painting at auction yesterday.
As yet it would appear the financial turbulence affecting the financial markets has yet to impact on art sales.
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