Crawford Municipal Gallery curator Peter Murray yesterday expressed satisfaction after he successfully bought an important 18th century picture of Cork for €700,000 to ensure that it is not lost to the city.
Mr Murray was just one of two people to bid for A View of Cork by John Butts (circa 1755) and he secured the painting within minutes of auctioneer Denis Lynes of Lynes & Lynes putting it up for auction in Cork yesterday.
A huge cheer went up from the 200 or so people at the auction, when Mr Lynes confirmed that he was accepting Mr Murray's bid of €700,000 for the painting which it was feared might be lost to the city during its reign as European Capital of Culture.
"I'm delighted - it was going but now happily it's not gone from the city of Cork so it's going to be there at the Crawford Gallery for perpetuity. We had it through the kindness of its owners for 30 years but we're delighted to be welcoming it back," said Mr Murray. "I think it was a fair price because things can get a bit silly," he said, adding that his bid was facilitated by a small group of anonymous benefactors.
There was also good news on another front when a number of legal practitioners in Cork combined to buy The Fire at Cork Courthouse (1891) by Eugene McSwiney for €56,000 with a view to donating it to the newly refurbished courthouse.