Cork painting sold at Sotheby's raises €11k for medics who saved artist's life

A West Cork-based artist has raised €11,779 for charity to thank the medics who saved his life in 2018 through an art sale in Sothebys

The painting of Castlehaven that John Kelly auctioned at Sotheby's for charity.

An Australian artist whose life was saved by medics from Cork University Hospital (CUH) and West Cork Rapid Response has sold a painting at Sotheby’s, the proceeds of which will go to the Cork medics who saved his life.

'Castlehaven' by John Kelly made £10,710 (€11,779) at the sale of Irish art at the famed British auction house yesterday, and Kelly is donating the money to CUH Charity and West Cork Rapid Response.

In 2018, the artist collapsed at his home in Reen, Co Cork, where he bought a cottage in 2003. He had experienced flu-like symptoms he couldn't shake for a year prior and when he collapsed he started having seizures. 

He was brought by ambulance to CUH. On the way it stopped in Clonakilty and Dr Jason van der Velde from the West Cork Rapid Response administered an injection that kept Kelly alive until the ambulance reached CUH.

Kelly stayed in CUH for 45 days and returned frequently to the hospital for over a year to find the right course of treatment for an extremely rare condition.

John Kelly and his wife Christina at the Famine memorial at their home in Reen.

To thank those who saved his life, Kelly decided to auction his painting ‘Castlehaven’ at Sotheby's. It had a guide price £5,000 - £7,000 (€5,500 - €7,700).

The artist said he is “extremely pleased” with the sale.

“Christina, Oscar and I are extremely pleased our ‘Castlehaven’ painting has left our home for another life and along the way has raised what might be considered, a drop in a rather large ocean, of what our medical teams need to save lives,” Kelly said.

“Our family, having first-hand experience, trust that the Sotheby’s auction can contribute a tiny part of the funds that saves lives along the N71 from west Cork to the Cork University hospital. If it does it will have a greater meaning for us and the painting.

“I think often about my stay in the CUH and want to thank them for their dedication to their art of saving lives.” Other pieces sold at the auction included In Tír Na Nóg by Jack B Yeats, which made £390,000 (€429k); and The Dreamer, by Gerard Dillon, which went for £378,000 (€415).