RTÉ urged to call off Irish artwork sale

RTÉ has been urged to call off a sale of iconic Irish artwork in London next month.

The national broadcaster is selling off two artworks by Louis Le Brocquy, 'Táin' and 'The Massing of the Armies' which were commissioned by RTÉ.

The other pieces are by William Scott, George Campbell and Tony O’Malley.

RTÉ recorded a loss of €13 million in 2018 and it hopes that around €1m can be raised through the sale of the artworks.

RTÉ has also denied an allegation that it will pay art auctioneers Sotheby’s a significant amount of commission to sell the five artworks at public auction in November.

Dublin art auctioneer Ian Whyte claimed that Sotheby’s traditionally charges 25% commission.

In a statement the broadcaster said: “While RTÉ cannot disclose details of the agreement, the level of commission agreed by RTÉ with Sotheby’s is considerably below the EU tender level.

"All proceeds raised from the sale of these artworks and payable to RTÉ will be reinvested in the organisation."

Mr Whyte had claimed that RTÉ broke public procurement policy by awarding the sale of five artworks to UK company Sotheby’s without opening the process to tender.

When asked by RTÉ's Sean O'Rourke if his comments were “sour grapes”, Mr Whyte admitted that he was unhappy that RTÉ had not invited tenders for the auction.

The sale has been criticised by former RTÉ Director of News Wesley Boyd.

“While I know from personal knowledge as a former member of RTÉ’s board of management, the difficulty of running a complex broadcasting organisation with inadequate funds, the proceeds of the sale will contribute a paltry sum to the total budget.

"And a significant part of our national treasure will be lost to this country.

“It is particularly disturbing to see George Campbell’s magnificent painting of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra being included in the parcel of work for sale," he wrote in a letter to the Irish Times.

"This canvas was commissioned by RTÉ and was so highly prized that in 1998 a limited edition of expensive prints was made of it to mark the golden jubilee of the orchestra.

"It should be hanging in the National Concert Hall, not a London auction room."