Irish art expected to fetch €1m

A re-discovered seascape by Roderic O’Conor, a painting by Paul Henry last seen in 1973, and John Butler Yeats’s tender portrait of his son WB Yeats are among the prime Irish works at Sotheby’s sale of British and Irish art in London on May 23.

Some 30 Irish artworks are expected to bring in around €1m, and highlights will be on view at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on Wednesday and Thursday (May 9-10), at Sotheby’s, Molesworth St, Dublin, next Saturday (May 11) and on Sunday week.

Painted near Pont-Aven in 1898, Red Rocks and Sea by Roderic O’Conor is one of the largest of a series of seascapes executed in the 1890’s. It has had only two owners since. This is its first appearance at auction and it is estimated at £200,000-£300,000.

Paul Henry’s Achill Woman is estimated at £70,000-£100,000.

The Yeats’ painting dates from 1907 and is estimated at £40,000-£60,000. Other works include a le Brocquy tapestry estimated at £60,000-£80,000 and The First Tractor in Randalstown by Basil Blackshaw estimated at £100,000-£150,000.