The Singing Cat

Today We, Zarathustra the Cat, reveal to the world the true version of the iconic painting by Jack Vettriano, “The Singing Butler”:

Jack Vettriano, The Singing Cat

A cat lady in red takes her beloved ginger cat for a seaside walk, accompanied by a maid and a butler.

Jack Vettriano, The Singing Cat, detail

But once the cat carrier is open, even three people are not enough to contain the cat’s thirst for adventure!

Jack Vettriano, The Singing Cat, detail

“Fly me to the Meown!” sings the cat, while the butler tries to catch him and the balance

True “uplifting fantasy” as Vettriano described the painting!

We sent Our bro Tyger Blake back in 1972 to help Jack Vettriano, a self-taught artist, to make a breakthrough.

But snobbish art critics of the time rejected the version with the cat, saying that it is not realistic because the cat is too big.

But come on, if you once had an experience of trying to get your cat into the carrier against their free will, you know that at that moment the cat is the biggest and strongest being in the world!

Well, you know what art critics mean for an emerging artist… Vettriano reluctantly painted the cat over and depicted a dull male dancer instead.

Here is the resulting commonly known version:

Jack Vettriano, The Singing Butler

But, anyway, art critics revenged the artist and widely criticised the painting. They would never forgive a talent who became famous without their guidance. And Vettriano became famous, “The Singing Butler” got popular with the public to the point of being one of the most reproduced paintings in Britain!