Airline's auction stalls on takeoff

"Fasten your seatbelts," declared auctioneer Mr John de Vere White, "we are now selling the Aer Lingus Collection." If no staff were on hand to show how oxygen masks could be automatically lowered in front of faces, there was certainly need for the emergency exits to be pointed out in the RHA Gallagher Gallery last night. The main hall was filled far beyond a comfortable level with a crowd spilling onto surrounding staircases as the State airline opted to realise one of its assets by selling a group of 17 paintings.

That last figure should have been 24, but two relatively minor works failed to find any buyers and - rather more embarrassingly - another five had to be withdrawn before the auction when it transpired that they had originally been acquired with assistance from the Arts Council and must, therefore, remain in State ownership. This particular group included work by Patrick Collins and Louis Le Brocquy, the sale of which would certainly have boosted further the total of £446,800 (€567,319) raised from the event .

Even so, the final figure was not much lower than the £500,000 originally anticipated from the auction and Aer Lingus ought to be happy with the outcome, especially as a number of pictures far surpassed their original estimates. Among the highest fliers were two Nathaniel Hone oils, which made £42,000 and £19,000 respectively, while a Gerard Dillon canvas called Evening Window also soared well over its top estimate of £30,000 to sell for £42,000.

The highlight of the collection, By Merrion Strand, a relatively small oil painted in 1929 by Jack B. Yeats, lived up to expectations as well, going for £290,000 after some keen bidding. The sale of this painting must be considered especially poignant since it was the first art work acquired by Aer Lingus back in 1940 when the airline was only four years old. Even if the company recovers from its crisis, the opportunity to own a Yeats is unlikely to recur.