Billionaire and former K-Club owner, Dr. Michael Smurfit, who currently resides in Monaco, aged 83, is offering for sale certain Irish art works, the collection estimated at making up to €2 million at auction.
One of the paintings being offered for auction by Sotherby’s, is a portrait by Irish artist Sir John Lavery, R.A., R.S.A., R.H.A. of ‘Lady Evelyn Farquhar‘; in impressionism style, which has an estimated price tag of some €800,000.
The oil on canvas features one of the daughters of the fifth Earl of Donoughmore; latter an old Irish family that originally hailed from Knocklofty House, Clonmel, here in Co. Tipperary.
Lady Evelyn the lady in the portrait, married Lieutenant Colonel Francis Douglas Farquhar in April 1905. Lieutenant Colonel Farquhar, alas, was killed in action early during WWI, in 1915 and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), latter a military decoration of the United Kingdom.
After eight years as a widow, Lady Evelyn then remarried in 1923, one Sir Dougal Orme Malcolm KCMG (Knight Commander of St. Michael and St. George) of Poltalloch, in mid Argyll, Scotland; latter who died aged 78 years in 1955. Lady Evelyn herself died in 1966.
The painting has been described by the auction house as one of Lavery’s most successful and striking portraits.
The auction is expected be held in London the next 18 days (next September) and bidders are invited to register and bid online.
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