A 1956 oil painting by William Scott RA (1913-1989) Blue Still Life, 40ins by 66ins, right, was sold at Christie's in London yesterday for £590,000 (€870,000) including fees, a new world record for the artist. The painting, which was included in Christie's autumn sale of 20th century British art, was estimated at £250,000 to £350,000.
The previous record for Scott, born in Scotland of Irish parents and educated at Belfast College of Art, was £366,000 (€533,000),paid at Christie's in June of this year by a private UK collector for a related painting, Brown Still Life, also 1956.
The best recent Irish price for Scott's work, according to the Irish Arts Review price guide, was €67,000 before fees, paid at Adam's/Bonham's last year for a watercolour, Orange Abstract, 19.5ins by 25ins.
Also at Christie's yesterday a large bronze sculpture by Barry Flanagan RA, Nijinsky Hare, 96ins high, sold for £625,000 (€930,000), another world record. The sculptor made the sequence of hares exhibited recently on Dublin's streets.