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February 6, 2008 11:50 pm
Last February, Peter Doig made history when his painting "White Canoe" sold for £5.7 million (about $10 million) at Sotheby’s, making the Edinburgh-born, Trinidad-based painter’s "Nightmare on Elm Street"-inspired image of an old man adrift on an ominously still lake the highest-priced painting by a living European artist. But it was the sale, not Freddy Krueger, that seemed ready to do "White Canoe" in. The work came under fire from other artists, who carped about its inherent worth and long-term investment value. Beginning this week, when the most comprehensive overview of Doig’s work to date opens at Tate Britain, the public can judge for themselves whether he’s earned his place in history. "There’s a purity and a rough beauty in his paintings," Doig’s friend Hope Atherton said. "His art reminds me of Neil Young’s ‘Live at Massey Hall’ album. It is the visual equivalent of Young’s epic songs like ‘Old Man.’ There’s a truth to his art."
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