Haughey portrait expected to fetch £3,000

A portrait of Charles Haughey is among a collection of art and furniture being sold by journalist Terry Keane through fine art auctioneers James Adam. Ms Keane could realise up to £50,000 from the sale of 24 paintings, items of furniture and artefacts.

Paintings by Camille Souter, Louis Le Brocqey and Edward Maguire are among the collection, as well as a bronze head of Terry Keane by Gary Trimble that is estimated at £4,000 to £6,000. The portrait of Mr Haughey is by Roderic O'Connor (not to be confused with the Roderic O'Conor, the early 20th-century artist who died in the 1940s) and is expected to fetch £2,500 to £3,000. Ms Keane has owned it since 1990.

"I think it is the best portrait I have ever seen of that subject," she said. "But, basically, as individuals we decided to go our separate ways and we have to look to the future."

Ms Keane says that she is selling the pictures and furniture to make space in her Ranelagh home for more modern pieces since her tastes have changed. She says that she would like to invest in more contemporary pieces, particularly in furniture. She is selling a Regency-style sofa table (£1,000 to £1,500) and replacing it with a steel and glass table in her livingroom.

"My tastes have changed an awful lot, in paintings as in everything else." she said. "There comes a stage when you have to either put things on the ceiling or start editing. Selling these things frees up space for other art, and money. I would like to spend the money on some of the exciting ventures that I have in the pot."

Two paintings in the collection are particularly valuable - Camille Souter's The Young Bathers, which dates from 1964 and was once owned by the renowned sculptor Hilary Heron. It is expected to make £10,000 to £12,000. Edward Maguire's painting of a blackbird - which Ms Keane acquired in the 1970s - is a stunning piece, according to James O'Halloran of James Adam. "Edward Maguires do not come on the market very often and this is a very strong painting. We expect it to make £6,000 to £8,000."

A painting of a hat by Mick Mulcahy is expected to make up to £2,500, while works by James LeJeune and Maurice MacGonigal are also expected to make £1,000 and £1,200 respectively.

Several items of furniture and objects will be sold at Adams next Tuesday while the paintings will be included in Adams forthcoming fine art sale on September 29th.

Terry Keane admits to one tiny regret . . . over the Camille Souter painting. "It is my favourite and I did feel a bit of a twang about that. And the head . . . maybe I'll regret that later on but I don't think so. I have a couple of portraits at home and I can always look in the mirror."