Seán Keating’s painting of his own family fetches €130k

A painting by Limerick-born artist Seán Keating, featuring his wife and children, sold at auction for €130,000 — almost three times original estimates.

Portrait of an Aran Woman and her Children 1946 by Seán Keating was expected to fetch between €40,000 to €50,000 before it went under the hammer at Mealy’s in Kildare.

“It didn’t surprise me at all that the painting shot up above the auction price,” art historian and Keating biographer, Dr Eimear O’Connor, said; adding that she believes the painting fetched such a high price due to the models Keating used.