Untitled Field Painting by John Noel Smith made 4,000 at de Veres in September. (click to enlarge)
A rise in new clients purchasing Irish art and the return of collectors driven out of the Irish art market by the boom are two 2010 trends reported by de Veres art auctions.
Uncertainty about what to do with savings has steered new buyers towards the art market. And those driven out by high prices during the boom are back now that realism has returned and there is value to be had.
John de Vere White said that sales rates of over 70 per cent of Irish art lots offered at auction were achieved last year. This is consistent with previous years. In 2010 the upper end of the Irish art market was under supplied. There are still plenty of buyers available for works of quality which are accurately estimated.
A seminar on Irish art in the last 30 years with Robert O’Byrne will be hosted by de Veres at the D4 Berkley Hotel in Dublin on Sunday, January 30 at noon with an art valuation open day from 11 a.m.