THE NATIONAL ASSET Management Agency has pulled in about €1,936,000 from the sale of valuable paintings seized from one of its debtors.
The amount raised from the three auctions in Christies in New York and London this month is at the higher end of estimates and the agency said it is happy with the outcome.
Last night, six paintings were sold at Christies London on behalf of NAMA, netting a total of €857,322.
The works by Ivon Hitchens, Roderic O’Connor, Jack Butler Yeats and Paul Henry sold for between €50,000 and €215,000 at the 20th Century British and Irish Art Day Sale.
The so-called bad bank seized 16 paintings from Quinlan who owes large sums to Irish banks. Two of those are to be donated to the National Gallery of Ireland and just four paintings remain unsold – three in London and one in New York.
A spokesperson for NAMA said the agency was very happy with the outcome of the sales.
“Prices were strong and will go toward paying down the debt of the debtor,” he said. ”The whole sales process was very effective.”
Asked about the future of the unsold lots, the spokesman said NAMA will sit down with Christies in the coming days and discuss the options.
“It is the agency’s intention to realise the paintings’ value, however,” he added.
On Wednesday night, one painting was sold at Christies in London, while earlier this month two were successfully auctioned at Christies New York.
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