A painting by Irish artist Gerard Dillon, titled *Tea Party* (1955), sold for €1.4 million ($1.6 million) at Adam's Auctioneers in Dublin on May 27, crushing its presale estimate of €150,000–€200,000 by approximately 450 percent. The work, acquired by an unknown phone bidder, set a new auction record for the 20th-century artist, tripling his previous record of £378,000 set at Sotheby's London in 2020.
The sale marks the first significant spike in Dillon's market since the mid-2000s, reflecting the painting's stature as a seminal work with a rich exhibition history. The result underscores renewed collector interest in overlooked mid-century Irish modernists and highlights how exceptional examples can dramatically outperform expectations in a niche market.