The Rosy Wilde gallery was an artist-run project space, established in 2003 by British artist

Stella Vine Stella Vine (born Melissa Jane Robson, 1969) is an English artist, who lives and works in London. Her work is figurative painting, with subjects drawn from personal life, as well as from rock stars, royalty, and other celebrities. In 2001, she ...

in a former butcher's shop below her house in east London, to showcase work by emerging artists. The gallery was not making money and Vine was expecting

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

s, when one of her paintings of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

, was bought by art collector

Charles Saatchi Charles Saatchi (; ar, تشارلز ساعتجي; born 9 June 1943) is an Iraqi-British businessman and the co-founder, with his brother Maurice, of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The brothers led the business – the world's largest a ...

to star in his ''New Blood'' show. This solved Vine's financial problems. The gallery was sold at auction in October 2004 and, in 2006, Vine opened a gallery of the same name in central London's

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

district. It closed some time later.

Whitecross Street

sold her council house, which she had bought with money from working as a stripper, and purchased a derelict three-bedroom house above a disused butcher's shop at 139

Whitecross Street Whitecross Street is a short street in Islington, in Inner London. It features an eponymous street market and a large housing estate. Since 2010, there has been an annual Whitecross Street Party one weekend in the summer, together with an exhi ...

in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

,"Rosy Wilde"
, Rosy Wilde (home). Retrieved 14 January 2009. converting the shop space into a gallery. In August 2003, she opened it as the Rosy Wilde gallery, an artist-run project space,Stella Vine Profile
The Guardian Online, 6 March 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2009 to showcase the work of emerging artists,Honigman, Ana Finel
"Stella Vine in conversation with Ana Finel Honigman"
, Saatchi Online, 25 July 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2009. The gallery was given an "immediate Brit Art cache", according to the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

''; Jessica Lack of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' said it was "small but well formed". ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' journalist, Andrew Billen, said the street was "bohemianised" but had remained working class. Vine said she loved "the cosmopolitan chaos" of the area.Deveney, Catherine
"Stripped bare"
Scotland on Sunday, 14 March 2004. Retrieved 17 December 2008. She lived above the gallery, whilst her son Jamie used the basement.Billen, Andrew
"I Made More Money As A Stripper"
''

'', 15 June 2004. Retrieved 7 January 2009. The ''City and Islington News'' described the upstairs of the building as being "transformed into one such teenager's bedroom"Leong, Karen. "Gallery Review by Karen Leong, Fanclub, curated by Cathy Lomax", ''City & Islington News'', December 2003. Retrieved 31 January 2009. for the 2003 ''Fanclub'' exhibition. The joint show included eight young artists who "littered" two floors with their art work, conjuring up the sense of fan "memorabilia" of icons such as

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined loca ...

Billy Fury Ronald Wycherley (17 April 1940 – 28 January 1983), better known as Billy Fury, was an English singer, musician, songwriter, and actor. An early star of rock and roll, he equalled the Beatles' record of 24 hits in the 1960s and spent 332 week ...

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

, and

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, delving into the "psyche of the besotted fan". Lomax's painting of a group of crazed fans was described as "touching", and Yolanda Zappaterra's work as "tongue in cheek". The exhibition summed up as being "successful as a self indulgent wallow in the nostalgia of our formative years." At one point Vine was "on the verge of giving up because I wasn't making any money.""Saatchi snaps up North artist's dark Diana", '' The Journal'', p. 18, 24 February 2004. She had not paid any business rates on the gallery for a year,"The Money Issue: answer the questions!"
''

The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', 7 March 2004. p. 7. Retrieved on 18 December 2008. and was expecting the arrival of

s. The proceeds of

's 2004 purchase of Vine's painting ''Hi Paul Can You Come Over''Alleyne, Richard
"The 'Saatchi effect' has customers queueing for new artist"
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', 28 February 2004. Retrieved on 10 January 2008.Alberge, Dalya. "How Saatchi discovered the art of a stripper", ''

'', p. 6, 24 February 2004. went to the council bailiff.

Islington London Borough Council Islington London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Islington in Greater London, England. The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced two local authorities: Finsbury Metropolitan Borough Co ...

gave Rosy Wilde an additional month's grace to pay the outstanding debts after they had heard of the Saatchi's purchase. Vine was "bombarded" with phone calls from galleries wanting to show her work and from art collectors seeking to cash in on the "Saatchi effect"; within a week she had sold six paintings. Saatchi also bought more work from her. Vine said, "I can paint and pay the bills. I don’t need any more than that." Vine described the gallery and living space as a "tip". Journalist Catherine Deveney found it "fascinating, like being placed slap bang in the middle of a person’s entire life" with the walls whitewashed and employed as an improvised diary—"Tuesday 4pm" written in black above the bed— large pink cushions on the big bed, boxes, papers, suitcases and propped-up canvases on the floor, a loaded clothes rail, and art materials on a table. ''

'' journalist, Andrew Billen, visited Vine in June 2004, and said the gallery was a clue that "Saatchi's Midas touch has not turned Stella's life to gold", describing the empty space and collapsed stairs as "emotional chaos". On 1 July 2004, the show ''James Jessop and Jasper Joffe'' opened. The ''

'' reviewed the show, commenting that Jessop, who worked as a

Group 4 Group 4 may refer to: *Group 4 element, chemical element classification * Group 4 (racing), classification for cars in auto racing and rallying *G4S, formerly Group 4 Securicor, a prominent British security company *IB Group 4 subjects, subject gro ...

security guard for his day job, had exhibited alongside Vine in Saatchi's ''New Blood'' exhibition and that his talent was for speed paintingAnderson, Hephzibah. "James Jessop and Jasper Joffe", The Evening Standard art section. July 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2009. having once exhibited 72 canvasses created in 72 hours. By June 2004, Vine was in debt for £80,000, excluding money due on the property, had stopped answering phone calls, saying "It seems every call I get now is from someone saying I owe them money."Hall, Jane.
Debt, Diana and homesickness
", '' The Journal'', Newcastle-upon-Tyne, p. 16, 8 June 2004. She listed the debts as "comfort shopping" on credit cards, loans, council tax, her car and parking fines, and said she found this very depressing: "I am a very depressed, manic person." Vine moved to Spain in 2004.Saner, Emine
"My £600-a-week coke habit just to paint; Controversial artist Stella Vine speaks about the project inspired by Kate Moss that drove her to addiction - and how only the love for her teenage son stopped her from attempting suicide."
''The Evening Standard'' (London), 1 December 2005. She lived in a rundown Spanish farmhouse with her son Jamie, their cat and £20,000 worth of paint and canvas. Vine's house and the shop below it sold at auction in October 2004.Miller, Compton
"DJ Victoria tunes into Knightsbridge; Homes gossip"
''

'', p. 2, 13 October 2004.

Wardour Street

In 2006, Vine re-opened the Rosy Wilde gallery, this time on the floor above the first

Ann Summers Ann Summers is a British multinational retailer company specialising in sex toys and lingerie, with 80 high street stores in the UK, Ireland, and the Channel Islands. In 2000, Ann Summers acquired the Knickerbox brand, a label with an emphas ...

sex shop,Smith, David (200
"Art? It's like the sex trade"
''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', 23 April 2006. Retrieved 23 April 2006. in

Wardour Street Wardour Street () is a street in Soho, City of Westminster, London. It is a one-way street that runs north from Leicester Square, through Chinatown, London, Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street. Throughout the 20th century the ...

. She held exhibitions for artists such as Jemima Brown whose show at Rosy Wilde was described as "spooky and unhinged". Other artists to exhibit were

Annabel Dover Annabel Dover (born 1975 in Liverpool) is a British artist. She has a BA (Hons) in fine art from Newcastle University (1998), an MA in fine art from Central Saint Martins, London (2002), and a teaching qualification (PGCE) in art and design from ...

Cathy Lomax Cathy Lomax (born 1963) is a London artist, curator and director of the Transition Gallery. She is mainly known for her figurative paintings which often focus on the female image and are inspired by 'the seductive imagery of film, fame and fa ...

and Michael Crowe whilst show titles included ''Force Fed Brown Bread'', ''Lux'', ''Give Me Your Blacklisted'' and ''Vignettes''.Comment art page for Rosy Wilde
2006. Retrieved 6 January 2009. Vine said that her priority was independence, so that she preferred "running a cottage industry and maybe earning £50,000 a year" to earning hundreds of thousands but at the cost of participating in a manipulative system. The Soho gallery later closed.

Exhibitions

Notes and references

External links

(historic site)
Rosy Wilde at MySpace.com
(historic site)

Stella Vine official website
{{coord, 51.5124, -0.1333, type:landmark_region:GB-WSM, display=title Defunct art galleries in London Contemporary art galleries in London 2003 establishments in England Art galleries established in 2003