Gormleys Sale at the D4 Berkeley Court Hotel on October 26th saw almost 40% of the lots go unsold and most of those that did sell went for amounts below their pre-auction estimates. In my opinion this reflects more the state of the country than the quality of art included in the sale. As it was, it was the big names (and prices) such as Percy French, Louis le Brocquy and Maurice Wilks that failed to sell with lesser known artists such as Thelma Mansfield and J P Rooney doing quite well. The highest price of the evening was €5,300 for “Time to Reflect” by Northern Ireland artist Ken Hamilton and even this was well below the pre-sale estimate of €8,000 -9,000. Perhaps the art buying public are holding themselves back for the Adam’s “Bank of Ireland” sale in November?

"Time to Reflect" by Ken Hamilton - sold €5,300. (Pre-sale estimate €8,000-9,000.)

The unsold lots may still be purchased and can be viewed here: http://www.gormleysartauctions.com/auction.asp?AuctionID=45&Sold=&offset=0