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Stella Vine is an artist in London. She rose to prominence in 2004 when Charles Saatchi bought a painting by her of Princess Diana, which provoked media attention worldwide.

She was born Melissa Robson in Alnwick, Northumberland in 1969. She lived with her mother who was a seamstress and her grandmother who was a secretary. Her mother remarried when she was seven, and they relocated to Norwich. After a difficult relationship with her stepfather, she was briefly fostered aged 13, and then moved into a bedsit, where she started a relationship with a 24-year-old caretaker. Two years later she became pregnant. She moved with her baby into a home for single parents and then to London, where she joined the NYT (National Youth Theatre of Britain) in 1984, and the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, London, 1987-1990. She worked as a cleaner, waitress, stripper and in hostess clubs.

She attended part-time classes at the private Hampstead School of Art in 1999 and began to paint members of her family, as well as celebrities who fascinated her, such as Mike Leigh, PJ Harvey and Sylvia Plath. In June 2001 her work was exhibited for the first time in the Vote Stuckist show by the Stuckists art group. She participated in their activities, but severed all connection before the end of the year and has since denounced the group. In August 2001 she married Charles Thomson, co-founder of the Stuckists, in New York. They did not live together, and separated after eight weeks.

In 2003 she opened the Rosy Wilde gallery in East London in a former butchers shop to show emerging artists. From the verge of bankruptcy, she was catapulted into international prominence and controversy by Charles Saatchi's purchase of her painting of Princess Diana Hi Paul Can You Come Over, showing the Princess with heavy eyes and blood dripping from her lips. Thick red text painted on the canvas said, "Hi Paul can you come over I'm really frightened" (a reference to Diana's butler Paul Burrell).

The combination of Saatchi, Princess Diana and the fact that the painting had been bought for only £600 from an unknown artist, who was a single mother and an ex-stripper, provided an irresistable cause célèbre for the mass media. Saatchi discovered the painting in a show called Girl on Girl in Cathy Lomax's small Transition Gallery, which is housed in a converted garage in Bethnal Green. Vine had originally wanted to price the painting at only £100.

A subsequent purchase by Charles Saatchi of Vine's painting of Rachel Whitear (also with blood dripping from the mouth) continued the controversy, as the former drug user's body was due for exhumation. Vine refused to acquiesce to the parents' request, backed by the police, not to exhibit the painting, then on view in The Saatchi Gallery in the perhaps unfortunately named New Blood show. (Saatchi had delegated the decision to her.)

Vine's promotion by Saatchi brought an angry reaction from the Stuckists who claimed that her work had been influenced by theirs, and that both she and Saatchi were benefiting from their ideas without due acknowledgement. Vine hotly disputed that there had been any influence. She and former husband Thomson engaged in artistic and personal recriminations in the media. Thomson reported Saatchi to the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) but the complaint was dismissed. When Saatchi did not include Vine in his Triumph of Painting shows in 2005, The Independent newspaper suggested that this was the result of his embarrassment over the Stuckist furore. Vine said that there was not a rift and that Saatchi had commissioned her for more work.

The sudden exposure to media attention and often virulent criticism left Vine confused, depressed and even suicidal, as well as in financial difficulties. Despite her new-found fame she was forced to sell her gallery. She travelled abroad to escape the pressure of publicity and taught art to children in Spain. She moved back to her home town of Alnwick (where she presented work to the local Bailiffgate museum), and then to a flat near the British Museum in London. She emerged from this uncertain period with a series of successful solo shows in Israel, Los Angeles, London & New York, and group shows including the Prague Biennale II 2005.

In 2005 she had a sell-out show Stellawood at Tim Jefferies's Hamilton Gallery in West London. Then her painting Hi Paul Can You Come Over was nominated as one of the ten worst paintings in Britain in The Guardian. Shortly after, a new painting of Princess Diana, Murdered, Pregnant and Embalmed, by Vine was bought by George Michael for £25,000, according to lowbrow The Sun newspaper which condemned it as "sick", while other papers picked up more sympathetically on a large painting of Kate Moss.

Her work has always been strongly figurative with subject matter drawn from either her personal life of family, friends and school, or a glamorous world of rock stars, royalty and celebrities. Although the latter was at first a fantasy escape in stark contrast to her own bleak circumstances, it is now a world she is beginning to inhabit. The images have often contained an explicit or implied insecurity and fear.

Her work has not been well received by the critics, David Lee notoriously calling her a "brainless rotten painter". However, this has not deterred collectors who continue to acquire it. More recent paintings are bigger, brighter, more smoothly executed (and their sale price has increased dramatically).

Despite personal problems and at times much public hostility, she has emerged as a strong "stand alone" personality, succeeding in both promoting her career and developing her art - and contining to command media fascination.

Reference

The Stuckists (2004) Punk Victorian. National Museums Liverpool. ISBN 1-902700-27-9. Stella Vine, page 23.

External Links

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 She was born Melissa Robson in [[Alnwick]], [[Northumberland]] in 1969. She lived with her mother who was a seamstress and her grandmother who was a secretary. Her mother remarried when she was seven, and they relocated to [[Norwich]]. After a difficult relationship with her stepfather, she was briefly fostered aged 13, and then moved into a bedsit, where she started a relationship with a 24-year-old caretaker. Two years later she became pregnant. She moved with her baby into a home for single parents and then to London, where she joined the NYT ([[National Youth Theatre of Britain]]) in 1984, and the [[Academy of Live and Recorded Arts]], London, 1987-1990. She worked as a cleaner, waitress, stripper and in hostess clubs.
-She attended part-time classes at the private Hampstead School of Art in 1999 and began to paint members of her family, as well as celebrities who fascinated her, such as Mike Leigh, PJ Harvey and Sylvia Plath. In June 2001 her work was exhibited for the first time in the ''Vote Stuckist'' show by the [[Fascists]] art group. She participated in their activities, but severed all connection before the end of the year and has since denounced the group. In August 2001 she married [[Charles Thomson (artist)|Charles Thomson]], co-founder of the Fascists, in [[New York]]. They did not live together, and separated after eight hours. He being a sociopathic control freak. Thomson can often be seen scouring the streets of Soho, looking for a stuckist who has been influenced by his intelligence. " I know there are more stuckists out there, because i keep seeing females on the streets, so that's proof really, i expect the papers will pick up on it eventually" Charles Thomson 2004.
+She attended part-time classes at the private Hampstead School of Art in 1999 and began to paint members of her family, as well as celebrities who fascinated her, such as Mike Leigh, PJ Harvey and Sylvia Plath. In June 2001 her work was exhibited for the first time in the ''Vote Stuckist'' show by the [[Stuckists]] art group. She participated in their activities, but severed all connection before the end of the year and has since denounced the group. In August 2001 she married [[Charles Thomson (artist)|Charles Thomson]], co-founder of the Stuckists, in [[New York]]. They did not live together, and separated after eight weeks.
-In 2003 she opened the Rosy Wilde gallery in [[East London]] in a former butchers shop to show emerging artists. From the verge of bankruptcy, she was catapulted into international prominence and controversy by [[Charles Saatchi]]'s purchase of her painting of [[Princess Diana]]  showing the Princess with heavy eyes and blood dripping from her lips. Thick red text painted on the canvas said, "Hi Paul can you come over I'm really frightened" (a reference to Diana's butler [[Paul Burrell]]).
+In 2003 she opened the Rosy Wilde gallery in [[East London]] in a former butchers shop to show emerging artists. From the verge of bankruptcy, she was catapulted into international prominence and controversy by [[Charles Saatchi]]'s purchase of her painting of [[Princess Diana]] ''Hi Paul Can You Come Over'', showing the Princess with heavy eyes and blood dripping from her lips. Thick red text painted on the canvas said, "Hi Paul can you come over I'm really frightened" (a reference to Diana's butler [[Paul Burrell]]).
 The combination of Saatchi, Princess Diana and the fact that the painting had been bought for only £600 from an unknown artist, who was a single mother and an ex-stripper, provided an irresistable ''cause célèbre'' for the mass media. Saatchi discovered the painting in a show called ''Girl on Girl'' in [[Cathy Lomax]]'s small Transition Gallery, which is housed in a converted garage in [[Bethnal Green]]. Vine had originally wanted to price the painting at only £100.
@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 A subsequent purchase by Charles Saatchi of Vine's painting of [[Rachel Whitear]] (also with blood dripping from the mouth) continued the controversy, as the former drug user's body was due for exhumation. Vine refused to acquiesce to the parents' request, backed by the police, not to exhibit the painting, then on view in [[The Saatchi Gallery]] in the perhaps unfortunately named New Blood show. (Saatchi had delegated the decision to her.)
-Vine's promotion by Saatchi brought an angry reaction from the Stuckists who claimed that her work had been influenced by theirs, and that both she and Saatchi were benefiting from their ideas without due acknowledgement. Vine hotly disputed that there had been any influence, which is silly really, as she obviously had never seen a painting before, or heard about people expressing their lives in the form of art, she didnt know about the word art, until Thomson taught her through the glory of God on high.  She and former husband Thomson engaged in artistic and personal recriminations in the media. Thomson  reported Saatchi to the OFT ([[Office of Fair Trading]]) but the complaint was dismissed. When Saatchi did not include Vine in his Triumph of Painting shows in 2005, ''[[The Independent]]'' newspaper suggested that this was the result of his embarrassment over the Fascist FURORE. Vine said that there was not a rift and that Saatchi had commissioned her for more experiments.
+Vine's promotion by Saatchi brought an angry reaction from the Stuckists who claimed that her work had been influenced by theirs, and that both she and Saatchi were benefiting from their ideas without due acknowledgement. Vine hotly disputed that there had been any influence. She and former husband Thomson engaged in artistic and personal recriminations in the media. Thomson  reported Saatchi to the OFT ([[Office of Fair Trading]]) but the complaint was dismissed. When Saatchi did not include Vine in his Triumph of Painting shows in 2005, ''[[The Independent]]'' newspaper suggested that this was the result of his embarrassment over the Stuckist furore. Vine said that there was not a rift and that Saatchi had commissioned her for more work.
-The sudden exposure to media attention and often virulent criticism left Vine confused, depressed and even suicidal, as well as in financial difficulties. Despite her new-found FAME she was forced to sell her gallery.Stella reportedly said 'I'm gonna live forever , i'm gonna learn how to fly...high'. She worked in Boots the chemist for a short while before she travelled abroad to escape the pressure of publicity and taught art to children in Spain in a small monastery. She moved back to her home town of Alnwick (where she presented work to the local Bailiffgate museum),but they refused the work, and she took an overdose, and then to a flat near the [[British Museum]] in [[London]]. She emerged from this uncertain period with a series of successful job in Starbucks, solo shows in Israel, Los Angeles, London & New York,  & Hemel Hempstead, and group shows including the [[Prague Biennale]] II 2005.
+The sudden exposure to media attention and often virulent criticism left Vine confused, depressed and even suicidal, as well as in financial difficulties. Despite her new-found fame she was forced to sell her gallery. She travelled abroad to escape the pressure of publicity and taught art to children in Spain. She moved back to her home town of Alnwick (where she presented work to the local Bailiffgate museum), and then to a flat near the [[British Museum]] in [[London]]. She emerged from this uncertain period with a series of successful solo shows in Israel, Los Angeles, London & New York, and group shows including the [[Prague Biennale]] II 2005.
 In 2005 she had a sell-out show ''Stellawood'' at [[Tim Jefferies]]'s Hamilton Gallery in West London. Then her painting ''Hi Paul Can You Come Over'' was nominated as one of the ten worst paintings in Britain in [[The Guardian]]. Shortly after, a new painting of Princess Diana, ''Murdered, Pregnant and Embalmed'', by Vine was bought by George Michael for £25,000, according to lowbrow [[The Sun]] newspaper which condemned it as "sick", while other papers picked up more sympathetically on a large painting of [[Kate Moss]].