More than a century after they put brush to canvas, the Impressionists continue to exert a strong pull over Irish art lovers if advance ticket sales for the National Gallery of Ireland's coming exhibition are anything to go by.
Tickets have already sold out for the first two weekends of Monet, Renoir and the Impressionist Landscape, which opens on Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for the gallery, Ms Valerie Keogh, said the public's response to the exhibition had been "phenomenal".
It was hoped that more than 100,000 people would attend the exhibition before it closed on April 14th.
The show is the first to go on display in the gallery's new €33 million Millennium Wing, which was designed by the award-winning architects Benson & Forsyth.
It comprises 69 paintings from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Among the artists featured are Cézanne, Renoir, Pissarro, Monet, Gauguin and van Gogh.
Ms Keogh said Dublin was the first European city to host the exhibition, which marked a new beginning for the gallery's presentation of international art.
There has been strong interest in the exhibition from art-lovers all over the country and abroad, with schoolchildren particularly keen on the Impressionist masters.
To facilitate this a 24-hour booking line has been established at 1890-925120. From the North and Britain: 0870-333-6030.
Frank McDonald on the Millennium Wing: Weekend supplement
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