Irish paintings put €40m gloss on art sales

LAST year proved to be one of the best years for art sales in Ireland with up to €40 million worth of paintings sold.

This was up about 10% on the previous year and was helped by the fact that several quality paintings came on the market, such as part of the Smurfit corporation's collection and the contents of Lissadell House.

Around €20m of the total amount came from auction houses in Ireland, said Ian Whyte of Whyte's Auctions, who collated the figures.