Work by artists such as Monet, Kandinsky, Dali and Sisley will be on view in Dublin for one day only today to preview a Sotheby's auction being held in London next month.
Sotheby's said this was the first time that an auction house had brought such work to Dublin in advance of a sale in London.
The 20 paintings on view in Dublin are worth more than €5.3 million. They will be auctioned in London on February 5th and 6th.
Arabella Bishop, Sotheby's regional director in Dublin, said the preview had been organised because the Irish market for Impressionist and Modern art had become increasingly busy in recent years.
"We have quite a few clients interested in Impressionist and Modern artists here," she said. "This is something that we want to grow."
She said it would give people an opportunity to view works that would normally be in private collections.
Most public interest should focus on the Claude Monet oil on canvas Le Binnen-Amstel, Amsterdam. Painted in 1874, Sotheby's described it as "an important and rare document of the early development of Impressionism's foremost figure".
Its value is estimated at £280,000-£350,000 (€374,289- €467,862).
The 1957 Salvador Dali painting of a giraffe Dalí Noce (Giraffe Candelabra) has been valued at between £100,000- £150,000 (€133,666-€200,497). It is one of a number of Surrealist works that will be auctioned at the London sale.
The Alfred Sisley painting Le Canal du Loing au Printemps - Le Matin dates to 1897. According to Sotheby's, it shows Sisley at the height of his Impressionistic prowess. It has been estimated at £200,000-£300,000 (€267,000- €400,616).
Ms Bishop said Sotheby's was expecting strong public interest in today's preview, which runs from 10am-5pm at its premises at 16 Molesworth Street, Dublin.
