The world-record price of €1.375 million – almost seven times its estimate – made for Gerard Dillon’s painting Tea Party at Adam’s auction in May will undoubtedly be the most talked-about auction result for 2026. But, even aside from this extraordinary sale, art auction houses experienced a good first six months of this year in comparison with the same period last year.“The results have definitely been stronger in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. The main reason for this was that vendors were nervous about putting works up for sale last year when international tariffs were being threatened and there was general uncertainly out there,” says Nicholas Gore-Grimes of Adam’s.“Prices were stronger this year and there was more confidence in the art market compared to when there was uncertainty about tariffs after [Donald] Trump came to power in 2025,” says auctioneer Morgan O’Driscoll. He cites the William Scott painting Still Life on White with Beans as an example. This painting – which was first exhibited in the Gallery Moos in Toronto in 1978 – sold under the hammer for €150,000 in O’Driscoll’s auction of Irish and International Art in April.William Scott's painting, Still Life on White with Beans, went under the hammer for €150,000 in O’Driscoll’s auction of Irish and International Art in April, 2026. Prices achieved for paintings by Paul Henry, William Orpen, Jack B Yeats, John Lavery and Roderic O’Conor have remained as strong as they were last year, says Ian Whyte of Whyte’s. Paul Henry’s painting Dapping on Lough Mask, County Mayo sold at the Whyte’s Important Irish Art sale in May for €230,000 (€286,580 including buyer’s premium and VAT) against a presale estimate of €150,000-€200,000.More traditional landscape paintings by Maurice Canning Wilks, James Humbert Craig and Frank McKelvey make a fraction of the price of these more impressionistic landscapes. That said, The Fair Day, Camlough, County Armagh by McKelvey sold for €42,000, more than double its lower estimate of €20,000, by Adam’s in May. It was part of the collection of Reeta and Frank Hughes from Warrenpoint, Co Down – one of the most noteworthy collections sold so far this year. Mainie Jellett's Cubist Composition sold for €32,000, way over its guide price of €5,000-€7,000 at Morgan O'Driscoll's auction. Work of women artists sold well in the first half of the year, O’Driscoll says, citing examples of work by Mainie Jellett (whose Cubist Composition sold for €32,000, way over its guide price of €5,000-€7,000) and Evie Hone (whose Composition sold under the hammer for €150,000, three times its lower estimate of €50,000). O’Driscoll suggests new books on artists, academic research and exhibitions – such as Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone: The Art of Friendship in the National Gallery, which ran from April to August 2025 – have had an impact on subsequent demand for paintings at auction. Another woman artist whose work has sold well in 2026 is Mary Swanzy. Her painting Mercury’s Orbit sold with a hammer price of €42,000, well over the €10,000-€15,000 estimate at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish Art Auction in June. And Swanzy’s Cathedral, Semur went under the hammer for €40,000 at Adam’s in March; it had a guide price of €20,000-€30,000.Mary Swanzy's painting Mercury’s Orbit sold under the hammer for €42,000 at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Irish Art Auction in June, 2026. Looking at past auction results of work by an artist whose work you are interested in collecting is essential research before bidding at auction, says O’Driscoll. He also advises would-be collectors to keep an eye out for particularly good examples of an artist’s work. “It’s exciting for us to sell such pieces. The public recognises them and they are the ones we get the most comments on at previews of the auction.”About 30 per cent of the work sold at his art auctions goes abroad, O’Driscoll estimates. Whyte says about 16 per cent of their sales are exported – mainly to the US, Canada, the UK and the UAE. Gore-Grimes says only about five per cent of artworks go abroad from an auction of Irish art at Adam’s. Gerard Gormley of Gormleys galleries in Belfast and Dublin says international buyers feature more in the exhibitions that the gallery holds in hotels around Ireland. “For example, in our exhibition at Castlemartyr Estate [in east Cork] 20-25 per cent of sales are to hotel guests,” he says. He says about a third of the work of sculptor Patrick Reilly is sold to buyers abroad, mainly in the US. The 3D works on paper of Dublin-based artist Peter Monaghan are also popular with overseas buyers as is the vibrant 3D figurative work of Belfast-based Stephen Forbes. “We just shipped three of Stephen Forbes’s pieces to Portugal last week,” Gormley says.Sophie Ryder's sculpture, Kneeling, will be on show at the Mount Juliet Estate in Kilkenny from August 8 to September 5. Photograph: Patrick Browne Gormleys are perhaps best known for their Art and Soul International Art and Sculpture exhibitions held in Irish country house estates. To coincide with the Kilkenny Arts Festival, the gallery is mounting an exhibition of 100 outdoor sculptures on the grounds of Mount Juliet Estate in Co Kilkenny. The 18th-century manor house at Mount Juliet – which reopened in March 2026 after extensive restoration – will also showcase works by Irish and international artists, including Kneeling by British sculptor Sophie Ryder, which has an estimate of €175,000. “We sell works by Keith Haring, Picasso, Andy Warhol at these exhibitions,” says Gormley. The free Art and Soul International Art and Sculpture exhibition runs from August 8th-September 5th from 11am-7pm daily. Guided tours can be booked in advance via gormleys.ie.Gormleys.ie, morganodriscoll.com, adams.ie, whytes.ie What did it sell for?Art Tour, Mr BrainwashArt Tour (2021) by Mr. Brainwash (€2,000-€3,000) at Morgan O'Driscoll's online art auction which ends on July 20 Estimate: €2,000 - €3,000Hammer price: €1,900Auction house: Morgan O’DriscollSea Fields, Sean McSweeneyIrish artist, Sean McSweeney’s Sea Fields (€600-€900) at Morgan O'Driscoll's online art auction Estimate: €600 - €900Hammer price: €1,600Auction house: Morgan O’DriscollMullaghmore, Donald TeskeyDonald Teskey's Mullaghmore Estimate: €15,000 – €25,000Hammer price: €16,000Auction house: Morgan O’DriscollStudy for Fra Angelico/Annunciation, Mainie JellettMainie Jellett's Study for Fra Angelico/Annunciation Estimate: €5,000 – €7,000Hammer price: €14,000Auction house: Morgan O’Driscoll