Two men are due in court this morning charged with the criminal damage to two paintings which were slashed in the Shelbourne Hotel, in Dublin, early last month.
The paintings are both by the artist Felim Egan and collectively thought to be worth in excess of €25,000.
It is understood that the works were slashed by the two men, one aged in his late 40s and the other in his late teens.
According to sources, the incident took place on January 8th in the hotel's Adams Suite.
The men were arrested by gardaí from Pearse Street yesterday morning following an extensive investigation that involved talking to witnesses in the hotel and examining CCTV footage. The men were being held in custody last night under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
The pictures are titled “Evening Strand” and “Morning Strand”. The exact extent of damage caused is unclear. Although unconfirmed last night, they are thought to be the work of the Irish artist of the same name Felim Egan who lives in Sandymount Strand, Dublin.
Egan (62) studied in Belfast and Portsmouth and later attended the Slade School of Art in London. His official biography says he spent a year at the British School at Rome in 1980 before returning to Dublin.
He has exhibited across Europe with 54 solo exhibitions since 1979 including major shows at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.
Gardaí declined to comment on the incident last night but confirmed that two men would appear in court this morning.
