Des O’Sullivan says sale includes superb collection of Irish 18th century furniture and international art.    

US: An aspiring nun who was told she couldn’t enter a convent until her student loan debt was paid off has used an online appeal to get the money.

LT Meade penned over 300 books in a long career, writes Des O’Sullivan.

Bernardine Coverley, daughter of Irish parents who ran a pub in Brixton, met the painter, Lucian Freud when she was 16 and he was 20 years her senior.

The story of Peggy Guggenheim was of a life less ordinary, writes Richard Fitzpatrick

The Sunrise Ruby, a “pigeon’s blood” hued stone in a ring mounted by Cartier at Sotheby’s, Geneva on May 12 ($12-18 million)

Here's our pick of today's TV.

A Silver Cross pram made double its guide, says Des O’Sullivan.

Artist Tracey Emin was in the room to see her controversial creation My Bed shatter the record for one of her artworks at auction when it was sold for £2.54m (€3.17m).

Brendan Behan died 50 years ago this week, He was as famous for his drinking as for his undoubted talents, says Ryle Dwyer

Brendan Behan died 50 years ago today. Alan O’Riordan remembers his flawed brilliance

A masterpiece by Francis Bacon has become the most valuable piece of artwork ever sold by auction house Christie’s in Europe after going under the hammer for a record €51.4m.

A masterpiece by Francis Bacon has become the most valuable piece of artwork ever sold by auction house Christie’s in Europe after going under the hammer for a record £42.2m (€51m).

The Hugh Lane gallery in Dublin is to exhibit material relating to the auction-smashing triptych of Lucian Freud by Francis Bacon.

A Francis Bacon portrait of his friend and fellow painter Lucian Freud has become the most valuable work of art ever sold at auction — fetching over $142m (€105.5m) in just six minutes of frantic bidding.

A Francis Bacon painting of his friend and fellow artist Lucian Freud has become the most valuable work of art ever sold at auction – fetching over €100m.

Three Romanians have pleaded guilty to stealing seven paintings, including works by Picasso, Monet and Matisse, from a Dutch museum in a raid that shocked the art world.

Tough screen star Sean Bean’s portrayal of a cross-dressing teacher has landed him a best actor title at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards – one of two prizes for courtroom drama The Accused.

Thieves yesterday broke into a Rotterdam museum and walked off with works from the likes of Picasso, Monet, Gauguin, and Matisse potentially worth hundreds of millions of euro.

No-one could ever have accused Lucian Freud of being a sentimental painter.

President Michael D Higgins has led tributes to the one of Ireland’s most renowned artists, Louis le Brocquy, who died at home in Dublin aged 95 with his wife, Anne Madden, at his side.

One of Ireland’s most renowned artists, Louis le Brocquy, has died, a family source has confirmed.

It took less than five minutes to more than realise the price Christie’s auction house had hoped for, but Francis Bacon’s work has that affect on buyers.

The Duchess of Cambridge looked every inch the confident royal tonight as stepped out for her first solo public engagement.

LUCIAN FREUD, a towering and uncompromising figure in the art world for more than 50 years, has died, his New York-based art dealer said yesterday. He was 88.

IT WAS supposed to be a beautiful day.

A SALE of signs and artworks which adorned the walls of collapsed investment bank Lehman Brothers started with a bang yesterday as the first lots sold for way over their estimated prices.

A FRANCIS BACON portrait of his friend is expected to fetch £7.5 million (€9.4m) at auction.

A self-portrait by Kate Moss – drawn with lipstick – is going under the hammer.

The controversial author Salman Rushdie was knighted by the Queen yesterday.

ROMAN Abramovich has been ‘revealed’ as the mystery buyer of two paintings which smashed records at auction last week.

A FRANCIS BACON masterpiece broke the Dublin artist’s record at auction when it sold for $86.3 million (€54m) in New York, Sotheby’s said yesterday.

A Francis Bacon masterpiece broke the artist’s record at auction when it sold for £43m (€53.9m) in New York, Sotheby’s said today.

“ONE million dollars is the new 10 grand,” according to one Manhattan art dealer who was awed by prices paid at a major art auction in New York.

A COLLECTION of previously unseen paintings, letters, diaries and photographs belonging to artist Francis Bacon sold for £965,490 (€1,416,825) at auction last night.

A remarkable collection of art and historical objects dating to Elizabethan England has begun a tour of the United States.

Two airport cargo handlers have been arrested in New York for allegedly stealing a €1.4m painting by a British artist Lucian Freud.