72
WHYTES
SINCE 1783
,
Collection of Liam O’Keeffe-Ayudhkij
Whyte’s are pleased to offer a further selection from the collection of distinguished businessman and
arts patron, Liam O’Keeffe-Ayudhkij.
Liam O’Keeffe-Ayudhkij, who was born in Dublin in 1945, relocated to Thailand at the age of eighteen
and is renowned in both the country of his birth and in South East Asia for his contribution to business,
arts and charitable organisations in Thailand.
O’Keeffe-Ayudhkij was a keen art collector and built up lasting friendships with Irish artists such as
Patrick Scott. The meditative quality of Scott’s oeuvre appears to have connected with him and his
collection of early Scott canvases offered in this sale is testament to this. In Thailand O’Keeffe-Ayudhkij’s
love of art manifested itself in his support of Asian artists, the setting up of ‘Liam’s Gallery’ in Pattaya and
a book written by him on Thai art. He was also director of the Phya Thai Palace Restoration Committee.
After traveling Thailand from 1963 he settled in Bangkok where a surge in the local property market in
the 1970s opened up employment opportunities particularly in the property care services industry. In
1989
he led the management buyout of the company he worked for and formed his own business,
which he grew from the mid 1990s. By 2007 the company was employing 23,000 people. As an Irish
expatriate O’Keeffe-Ayudhkij was invited in
2009
to the Global Irish Economic Forum in
Farmleigh. He was also a founder and
director of the Irish Thai Chamber of
Commerce and a past president of the
Bangkok St. Patrick’s Society among other
accolades.
Outside of the business arena O’Keeffe was
a true philanthropist and committed to
many charitable organisations including
Support the Children Foundation and the
Bangkok Nursing Home Hospital. His
obituary in the Irish Times this year noted,
“
He will be remembered for his business
acumen, charity work, love of art and
boundless enthusiasm.”
Patrick Scott and Liam O’Keeffe-Ayudhkij at an
exhibition of Scott’s work.