Gerard Dillon (1916-1971) Tea Party (1955)
An oil on board by Gerard Dillon soared above its estimate to sell for a record €1.1 million hammer at Adam’s sale of Important Irish Art on May 27. It had been estimated at €150,000-€200,000. The signed and inscribed work from 1955 was purchased by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland from the Dawson Gallery in Dublin. It was subsequently sold at Sotheby’s in 1993 to Reeta and Frank Hughes of Warrenpoint. Exhibited at the Irish Exhibition of Living Art in 1955 it has since appeared in numerous exhibitions. It is understood that the work will remain in Ireland.
Among other top hammer prices were four works by Jack B Yeats as follows: The Dancer (Rosses Point) €280,000, The Paddock, Naas (€210,000), The Courthouse Steps (€115,000) and Through the Streets to the Hills (€110,000). Study for Riverrun, Procession with Lillies by Louis le Brocquy made €150,000 and Cuchulain IX by le Brocquy made €65,000, The Fair Day, Camlough, Co. Armagh by Frank McKelvey made €42,000, Sheep in a Field by Walter Osborne made €34,000 and The Princess by Colin Middleton made €32,000.