SUZANNE Macdougald and Tara Murphy had their work cut out for them in the Solomon Gallery on Monday night. As soon as they'd put one red sticker beside a Yeats picture, someone else would wave a brochure discreetly and they'd ne off again, stickers in hand.
Carmel Naughton, chairwoman of the National Gallery's board of directors, and Raymond Keaveney, the gallery's director, were cautious about whether the gallery would he purchasing another Yeats painting. Keaveney did say they are developing a room devoted to Yeats that will eventually be moved to the new extension in Clare Street - if, that is, the plans for that building are approved.
San Francisco based art collector Brian Burns, whose collection was displayed in the Hugh Lane Gallery last year, complimented Theo Waddington on his part in curating the exhibition. Waddington, whose family has been agent for Yeats's work for 70 years, remarked wryly: "Well, if a Waddington can't put a Yeats collection together.
Just back from Cannes, Radius TV's Bill Hughes chatted to music critic Ian Fox and set dresser Jim Harkins about Harkins's latest task: to turn Dublin into war time Copenhagen for a new Disney film that will start filming here shortly. Harkins didn't seem, remotely daunted by the task, pointing out that turning the city into a Dickens streetscape hadn't been a problem. He was referring to the recently completed film of Oliver Twist that brought Richard Dreyfuss and Elijah Woods to our shores.
Even after the buying frenzy ended there was no rest for Suzanne Macdougald as she was hosting a supper in her Sandymount home for a few of the guests including Theo and Vivienne Waddington, Theo's good friend, horse trainer Hugo Merry, and wife Elaine, who is expecting their baby next month, Prof, John Cooney; Norma Smurfit; medical consultant Robin Mooney and wife Violet; architect Frances Lyons; Moya and Paul Coulson, who is taking over City Jet; and Greencore's Ben Power.
Others wandered down to Ib Jorgensen's gallery for the opening of Roy Petley's exhibition, among them Desmond Fitzgerald, Knight of Glin, who was most enthusiastic about the summer schedule for Glin Castle. Next week Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Michael D. Higgins will open a famine exhibition in the recently restored church on the grounds. US ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, who is connected to the Fitzgerald clan, will also be there.