A PAIR of valuable Irish equestrian portraits by artist William Osborne will be auctioned in London on December 6th.

One (pictured above) is of Sarah Conolly from Castletown House and could be worth up to €35,000, according to auctioneer Bonhams. The other Osborne portrait is of Tom Conolly, “the eccentric MP for Donegal” on a dappled gray steed.

William Osborne (1823-1901) was born in Dublin and was best known for his pictures of dogs rather than horses, though his paintings of the Curraghmore Hunt and the Ward Hunt are among his most famous works. His son Walter Osborne (1859-1903) achieved even greater success as a portrait artist.

Irish collectors will no doubt be aware of the increased costs involved in purchasing items at British auctions since Brexit. According to The Irish Times: “After the general buyer’s premium of 27.5% and artist resale rights of 4% (up to £50,000) which is paid by the buyer in the UK (unlike here, where the seller foots the bill), there is now an additional 13.5% on the cumulative total after shipping costs — and that is before you take into account the current (albeit now lower) sterling differential. For example, if you purchased one of the paintings above for £20,000, it would cost you about €34,465 to bring it home to Ireland.”