The image of the struggling artist, in penury and close to starvation, may now be a hackneyed cliché, but it takes time to establish reputations and, except for those few who achieve major status, success for the majority of artists is likely to yield only a modest reward.
It is therefore no surprise that most Irish artists welcome the news that legislation is on the way to provide them with entitlement to a percentage of the resale value of their works.
The families and descendants of deceased artists will also have a claim to the levy under the so-called droit de suite scheme. This scheme, which is due to come into effect here as a result of an EU harmonisation directive, already operates in France, Germany and elsewhere in Europe.
The scheme has prompted some alarm and initial government resistance in Britain, where there are fears that it will damage London's international market, with art works being sent abroad for auction. In Ireland, it is unlikely to result in abandonment of the local auction houses. However, the Government has been slow to implement the measure - a 4 per cent levy on works of art worth over €3,000, with a €12,500 cap - and is only now doing so with a January 1st deadline looming.
The art market here in the era of economic boom has been buoyant, if not speculative, with cash-rich collectors taking advantage of the investment possibilities. A random glance through the catalogues of auctions held in recent years will confirm a growing number of living artists' work coming on to the market and commanding greater prices.
Louis le Brocquy, Camille Souter and Robert Ballagh are examples of such artists who have seen the resale value of their work continue to rise and rise. Ballagh's My Studio 1969 made three times its estimate of €30,000 last year.
These artists have, of course, benefited from the gallery prices of their current output going up. It is often the families and estates of artists who did not live to see the value of their work take off who have been at a loss.
The records set for Patrick Collins's paintings did not, for example, occur until after his death - his Liffey Quaysides was purchased by the National Gallery in 2001 for almost €102,000. The current lack of resale rights deprived his estate of any share in this windfall.
Most practitioners will gain from this measure in a relatively small way, but it is a welcome and enlightened move that rectifies an injustice to artists and their families.