A private art collection worth in excess of €1.5 million and containing works by Jack B Yeats and Louis Le Brocquy will be put up for auction tomorrow and next week.
The collection of the late Cork obstetrician Dr JB Kearney, who died last year aged 90, went on display for the first time in Cork last October and will be sold by Adam's auction house in Dublin. More than 100 paintings and sculptures, many of which have never been shown in public, form the collection which was developed by Dr Kearney over a 30-year period.
A member of the Arts Council, past president of the Friends of the National Collections of Ireland and on the organising committee for the Cork Rosc exhibitions, Dr Kearney was a devoted patron of the arts and provided financial support for many young artists.
David Britton, director at Adam's, said: "His collection is an impressive portfolio of 20th-century artwork that was put together by a true art connoisseur who ultimately acquired what he loved over and above any monetary investment purpose."
The Kearney paintings are among a larger collection of Irish art which includes Torso, an oil painting by le Brocquy, expected to fetch between €120,000-€180,000; The Tinker's Child by Yeats, with a pre-sale estimate of €250,000- €350,000, and the Turf Carrier by Paul Henry, valued at €150,000-€250,000.
Other highlights will include Green Abstract by Mainie Jellett €30,000- €50,000; Gerald Dillon's colourful aerial depiction, Inishlacken, valued at €50,000-€70,000; and Mary Magdalene and the Holy Trinity by Colin Middleton.
Viewings will be held today from 9.30am-7pm and tomorrow from 9.30am-5pm before the auction at 6pm.
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