Mixed performance by Irish art

The vagaries of the market in Irish art were demonstrated again during the week at the de Vere's auction conducted at the National Concert Hall, Dublin. Two examples of Jack Yeats's work were on offer and while one performed well, the other was withdrawn and sold later.

The first, A Son of the Claddagh, carried a pre-sale estimate of £100,000-£150,000 but eventually went for £210,000. However Yeats's Dublin Newsboys was withdrawn at £95,000 and, according to John de Vere White "sold later for a higher figure". Another disappointment must have been the failure of Paul Henry's West of Ireland Village to find a buyer, since this charming painting is very much typical of the artist's style. Roderic O'Conor's Attic Interior, perhaps because of its rather sombre character, went for £20,000, less than the lot's lower estimate, but Sarah Purser's Sitting in the Garden soared past its top estimate of £20,000 to fetch £31,000. Other lots which were unsold included a Harry Clarke watercolour and gouache of The Playboy of the Western World, while among the successes of the occasion were one of Andrew Nicholl's floral studies (£16,500) and Gerard Dillon's Mid-day Rest, Innislacken (£17,500) and A Resting Place (£11,000).