From a business perspective, such prices are a cue for auctioneers, collectors and investors all over the world to take more notice of the burgeoning art trade. In Ireland, recent auctions provide evidence of a stronger market this year. Sales rates are high and prices continue to climb steadily; the demand for good quality pieces is strong in all spheres.

"Art and antiques are tangible investments, and in these times of high property prices and volatile stock markets, where a large correction appears to be looming in the USA and the emerging markets having already lost much of their earlier gains of the year, possession of some tangible assets might not be such a bad idea, " said Loughlin Bowe of Loughlin Bowe Fine Art and Antiques.

"The three key words to any type of investing, whether it is in stocks or art, are quality, quality and quality. Good quality period pieces are a finite resource and hence they will always be in demand and command a premium."

There is a global upsurge in the demand for everything from Jack Butler Yeats to the post-Mao Chinese masters.

But art experts warn that dizzying auction prices cannot be sustained without sound knowledge and supporting financial services to make the art business more credible and transparent.

THE IRISH SCENE

Despite the recent spate of high-priced auctions, the Irish art market has not changed much in the last 25 years, especially from an artist's perspective. It is divided into three main categories: mainstream commercial galleries selling modern and abstract art; more traditional galleries selling landscapes, portraits and renowned dead artists;

and auction houses selling mainly well-known, established Irish artists of international repute, including Jack Yeats and Louis Le Brocquy.

Artists still consider it a closed circle. Having worked in cartoon animation beforehand, Dublin-based Jonathan Barry became a full-time artist and book illustrator in 1994. He is now the only living Irish illustrator to have sold at Sotheby's New Bond Street headquarters in London.

"It is very difficult to break into the art world in Dublin when starting out, as many galleries will not consider selling your paintings if you have not previously exhibited, " he says, "but if none of them give you your first solo show, then how can you start anywhere?

That is always the conundrum for an artist starting out in Dublin.

"An added problem is that, if you do not paint modern/ abstract art then you are automatically shut out of the five top commercial galleries in the city. This only leaves a handful of other galleries in Dublin who will exhibit landscape or portrait paintings."

Even if an artist's paintings are accepted, the commission in Dublin city centre ranges from 40% to 50%, so the artist is not left with much money once the painting sells. This helps explain why there has been a surge in recent years in artists submitting to auction houses, who typically take 10% to 15% . . . representing a big savings for the artist on the galleries' commissions.

Barry, who has received just £100 in funding (from the ESB towards a wine reception) in 12 years exhibiting, got his big break when Sotheby's in London began to auction his paintings in 2004.

Since then, eight of his paintings have been sold, while his Dublin landscapes have been submitted to the auctioneer's 20th Century British and Irish Art Auction on 6 September.

"The Sotheby's success has also had a positive effect on the auction houses here in Dublin, with two of Ireland's top auctioneers, John Adams and Garrett O'Conner Auctioneers, now selling my paintings as a direct result, " says Barry. But where were the Irish art galleries before his success at Sotheby's? Should Irish artists not be recognised and supported in Ireland first?

"The business of art in Ireland is a tough one, and you must have a strong will and confidence in your work if you want to be a professional artist, " Barry says. "The real professional sticks at it against all the odds because it is a part of them and they can't stop painting. It is a nice disease to have, and one of the nicest you can die of."

There is no doubt that Irish artists are starting to get the recognition they deserve, but the market's continued development requires suitable infrastructure and wider corporate emphasis on the viability of art as a long-term investment.

Even in the US, the most developed art market in the world, only a few institutions and intermediaries like IBJ Whitehall Financial Group, Sotheby's, Christie's and Kusin provide financial infrastructure to facilitate liquidity and advisory services in the art market.

In Ireland, with a booming economy to support the art scene like never before, urgent measures need to be put in place to build on art's steady progress from the periphery to the cultural and economic mainstream.

LISTEN TO YOUR ART: AUCTIONS BECOME BIG BUSINESS

IN THE PAST few months, there has been a spate of Irish auctions and many paintings have been sold for world record prices. An increasing number of Irish buyers are prowling and bidding at auctions, and a lot of top Irish expressionist paintings from Middleton and O'Neill have jumped tenfold in value over the last "ve years. And the prices keep rising.

Colin Middleton's Muriel was sold for a record 200,000 last December. In DeVeres two weeks ago, Paul Henry's In the West sold for 95,000, some 15,000 above the high estimate. The same painting was sold in 1996 for just 10,000. Similarly, in November of last year, DeVeres sold a work by Jack Butler Yeats (1871-1957), the country's most highly valued painter, for almost 790,000 ($1 million), setting an Irish record.

In James Adams, Yeats' portrait of 1927 Dublin street traders went for nearly 240,000. Other recent sales in Adams include Leo Whelan's The Flute Player, sold for 115,000; Frank McKelvey's Feeding the Chickens, sold for 44,000; and Edwin Hayes' Dutch Boats Returning from Sea, Katwyke Beach, Holland, which fetched 60,000.

One of the images of Louis LeBrocquy's Samuel Beckett series was sold at DeVeres for a substantial 90,000 in late 2004. However, a strikingly similar piece went under the hammer at Christies in London this May for nearly 300,000.

DeVeres other recent auction sales include Roderick O'Conor's Jeune Fille au Bouquet de Violettes, sold for 110,000; Hughie O'Donoghue's The Feel of the Air, sold for 24,000; Oisin Roche's O'Connell Street, sold for 3,000; and Louis LeBrocquy's Presence, which sold for 30,000.

In the current rising art market, there is a risk that lesser quality works by 'the names' of Irish art might be overvalued by investors, so buyers should be selective about what they purchase.

While the art market has been climbing to new highs over the past few years, it may also be timely to note that the antiques market has only begun to move upwards this year and still offers some very good value.