Sotheby's annual Irish Sale

Sotheby's first auction in London dedicated to Irish art took place in 1995 and has taken place annually since then, achieving a number of world record prices: The Wild Ones by Jack B. Yeats, Travelling Woman with Newspaper by Louis Le Brocquy and Portrait of Gardenia St. George with Riding Crop by Sir William Orpen, which at £1,983,500 is still the most expensive Irish painting sold at auction.

The Irish sale attracts consignments from all over the world - from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA, Pakistan and Switzerland to name but a few of the locations. Also, Ireland's growing economy over the last decade has resulted in many paintings being bought by Irish collectors.

Prior to the auction, a travelling exhibition of highlights from the sale goes on tour to Dublin and Belfast. In addition, receptions and gallery tours take place in each of these locations.

Sotheby's 2001 Irish Sale totalled £7,013,746 - the highest sum ever achieved worldwide for a sale of Irish Art. Sotheby's 2007 Irish Sale totalled £6,117,000 - the second highest sale total ever achieved for an Irish Art sale worldwide.

In 2006 Sotheby's inaugural sale of Post War and Contemporary Irish Art achieved 26 new world auction records, including Basil Blackshaew's acrylic on paper: Dog, which sold for £66,000 against an estimate of £18,000 to £25,000.

Sotheby's now holds 2 Irish Art auctions each year: the traditional Irish Sale in May and the Modern and Contemporary Irish Art in October.