One of the most significant portraits of Samuel Beckett by Louis le Brocquy is to be auctioned at Christie's in London.
The oil painting - which dates from 1980 - is part of the artist's celebrated head series which he described as "imaginative reconstructions" of creative individuals.
The piece carries an estimate of €88,000 - €120,000 and is being auctioned as part of the 10th Anniversary Sale of Irish Art on May 12th.
The painting is being sold alongside a le Brocquy watercolour from 1978 which is thought to be the first drawing of the series on Beckett.
Both paintings are being sold by John and Rosamond Bernier, who are close friends of the artist.
The auction includes a selection of works from the 18th to the 20th centuries, including The Honeymoonby Sir John Lavery which carries an estimate of £500,000-800,000, and paintings by Gerard Dillon, Paul Henry, Sir William Orpen and Jack Butler Yeats.
The auction will go on public view in Dublin's Merrion Hotel on April 20th and 21st.