A PAINTING WORTH tens of thousands of euro that had quietly hung in an RTÉ office for decades has been returned to an art gallery, following a search to clarify its ownership.

The work, a Gerard Dillon piece titled Kitchen Interior with Seated Woman, is estimated to be worth around €60,000.

RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst said the broadcaster had been trying to track down paperwork to confirm whether the piece had been loaned to RTÉ by a gallery some 40 to 50 years ago.

“We believe it may well have been lent to us by an art gallery about 40 or 50 years ago, and we’re trying to find the paperwork,” Bakhurst told RTÉ Radio’s Drivetime in October last year.

“You can understand that’s not straightforward. The gallery has been in contact saying they believe it was lent to us, but they also don’t have paperwork to show that.”

Gerard Dillon's painting. RTÉ RTÉ

The issue emerged as part of a wider internal review by RTÉ, which also uncovered historical irregular payments and pension arrangements dating back decades.

Bakhurst stressed that the broadcaster had no interest in keeping property it did not own, but wanted to ensure proper due diligence before returning the painting.

A spokesperson for RTÉ confirmed this afternoon that the painting was transferred to Taylor Galleries in December.

Taylor Galleries, based in Dublin, is the official representative of Gerard Dillon (1916–1971), a Belfast-born artist known for his west-of-Ireland scenes in a semi-naive style.

Dillon achieved little commercial success in his own lifetime but became popular during the Celtic Tiger era.

Taylor Galleries has been contacted for comment.