Northern Irish artist sues Dublin gallery

A Northern Irish artist is pursuing legal action against a Dublin gallery and its owner.

Belfast portraitist Colin Davidson wants his former friend Oliver Sears to return "a substantial body of artistic works", relinquish any claim to selling his art, and remove all references to him from the Oliver Sears Gallery website.

Davidson's lawyer Peter McGrath told The Times: “Our client very much regrets having to take this legal action but believes he has been left with no alternative as all attempts to resolve the matter prior to litigation had proved unsuccessful."

Sears is an art dealer and 100% shareholder in the gallery.