Henry best of the Irish in London

A PAINTING of men in currachs off the Achill coast, bought in Dublin for 30 guineas in 1938, was sold at auction in London on Wednesday afternoon for £175,250 (€205,293).

Running for Shelterby Paul Henry was the top-selling Irish lot at Bonhams' art auction in New Bond Street. The painting was acquired from Combridge's Gallery in Dublin just before the second World War by a family living in the Channel Islands who have owned it since. The oil-on-canvas, which measures 14 by 16 inches, had been estimated at £120,00-£180,000.

Two paintings by Jack B Yeats went under the hammer. A Giant Reading, which dates from 1942 and depicts a circus scene, sold for £82,250 (€96,313) within its estimate of £70,000-£100,000.

A second Yeats painting, The Hobby Horses, failed to reach its estimate of £40,000-£60,000 during the auction but sold afterwards for £41,250 (€48,296).

Speaking after the auction, Portlaoise native, Penny Day, director of the Irish art department at Bonhams in London, said: “Almost half-a-million pounds was achieved for the Irish art” which was “encouraging and shows that the market for fresh-to-auction, quality pictures remains strong”. She said that five paintings had been bought by Irish buyers and “will be returning to Ireland”.