Paul Henry's Croagh Patrick up 66.6% at Bonhams art auction

Paul Henry's A View of Croagh Patrick from Achill Island sold for $38,800 on May 30

Paul Henry's (1876-1958) A View of Croagh Patrick from Achill Island beat its estimate by 66.6% at Bonhams' 20th Century British and Irish Art sale.

It sold for £25,000, against a high estimate of £15,000, on May 30 in London.

It was the first time the painting had appeared at auction, this factor no doubt helping to drive the enthusiasm of buyers and pushing the price upward.

Paul Henry's estimate-beating artwork

Its strong showing was no surprise to us at Paul Fraser Collectibles, as the Irishman's artwork has a history of smashing estimates.

Another Henry work made €260,000 at Bonhams' Important Irish Art Sale in 2006, despite an Antiques Roadshow valuation of £40,000-£60,000.

The painting depicts a view of Croagh Patrick or "The Reek", a famous site of pilgrimage in honour of St Patrick. The mountain is said to have been the site where St Patrick fasted for 40 days in AD 441 before using the Black Bell to banish all of the snakes from Ireland.

Meanwhile, Gerard Dillon's The Moon over the Bog sold for £61,250.

Heavily influenced by Chagall, the work is described as rich in its sense of romance and fantasy.

Dillon said of the painting: "The Moon was so huge and romantic hanging over the land that even the young man in the picture was proposing marriage to the girl to whom he was making love."

Paul Fraser Collectibles has an investment-grade piece by Chagall here.

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Images: Bonhams