Andrew Vicari

Andrew Vicari (born Andrea Antonio Giovanni Vaccari; 20 April 1932 – 3 October 2016) was a Welsh painter working in France, who established a career painting portraits of prominent people. Despite being largely unknown in his own country, Vicari was Britain's richest living painter, and at one time Britain's 18th richest person.

Early life Vicari was born in Port Talbot, Wales, in 1932 to Italian parents, Vittorio Vaccari ('tobacconist and confectioner'), and his wife, Italini Bertani, from Parma. He was evacuated to Aberdare during World War II. He later attended Neath Grammar School for Boys. Aged 12 he won the Gold Medal for Painting at the Wales National Eisteddfod. He then began working in London as a portrait painter and in 1961 a large show of his work was put on in the former Debenhams showroom near Leicester Square financed by the band leader and impresario Jack Hylton. Eschewing modern trends, he remained a figurative artist working in oil. His work is appreciated worldwide, especially in the Middle East where three museums are solely dedicated to his work.

In 1974, Vicari was appointed as the official painter to the King and Government of Saudi Arabia. In 2001, he sold a collection of 125 paintings of the First Gulf War to Prince Khaled for £17 million. In October 2014, however, it was reported that Vicari had filed for bankruptcy and had been in poor health.

Vicari died at Morriston Hospital, Swansea on 3 October 2016 at the age of 84.