The art of the Lord of the Dance Michael Flatley features large at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish and International art auction at the RDS on April 20. The two most expensively estimated lots on the catalogue are by the Riverdance artist. The Power, from the Castlehyde Private Collection, is estimated at 70,000-90,000, Flight of the Quetzal at 40,000-50,000. Global celebrity is a powerful tool and outsider art is popular. Nevertheless estimates like that are light years ahead of the work of many long established Irish artists, living and dead, in the O’Driscoll catalogue.
An emerging artist, Michael Flatley creates his art by dancing on the canvas. In advance of his first exhibition, entitled “Art of the Dance” and due to be held in London this summer, he has sold privately from Castlehyde. One of his works made 22,500 at Sheppards in Durrow late last year.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for April 1, 2015).