Le Brocquy is top lot at Adam's

A PAINTING from the corporate art collection of Independent News & Media (INM) was the top lot at Adam’s art auction in Dublin on Wednesday evening. An Irish buyer successfully bid €320,000 for Procession With Lilies by the late Louis le Brocquy which had an estimate of €250,000-€350,000.

Five paintings by Paul Henry sold. The Bog at Eveningmade €150,000, just reaching its low estimate. The Port Authority, a major painting by Seán Keating, depicting an Aran Islands scene failed to sell and bidding stalled at €140,000, below the estimate of €150,000- €250,000. Keating’s drawing of The Tipperary Hurler, a study for his oil painting of the same title, made €1,600 (€1,000-€2,000).

The top seller among various works by Jack B Yeats was The Boat Builder which failed to reach its estimate (€70,000-€100,000) but sold for €62,000.

Other sales on the night included Heat by Patrick Hennessy, €7,400 (€4,000-€6,000); Still Life with Donatello Angel by Carey Clarke, €6,000 (€4,000-€6,000); Come Awa by George Washington Brownlow, €12,000 (€10,000-€15,000); and Hallway Green by Gemma Guihan, €2,200 (€1,500-€2,500).

One of the surprises was the €15,000 paid for a painting by Camille Souter, The Canal Still Flows Beautiful Near Ballyfermot (€6,000 -€10,000). Of the 220 lots, 75 per cent sold.