What is likely to be the last of the big Irish sales before the summer break takes place at the RHA Gallagher Gallery in Dublin in 10 days time under the auspices of De Veres Art Auctions.

With more than 440 lots on offer, the auction has been divided into two sessions, the first of which, starting at 12.30 p.m. features many affordable items, some with estimates in the low £100s. Among the familiar names here are Maurice Wilks (a watercolour called Coastal Landscape, £400-£600), Lillian Davidson (The Old Bog Road, watercolour, £900-£1,200) and Mary Swanzy (pencil Nude Study, £400-£600). This section of the day will conclude with almost 50 works from the studio of Eric Patton RHA who has decided to retire and is therefore disposing of much of his own work; figures for these pictures vary from £100 up to £2,000.

Beginning at 6 p.m., the second session is both longer and weightier in character. Among the very first lots here are two watercolours by William Scott totally unlike the still-life pictures for which he would become best known. Both these paintings date from circa 1945, when they were first exhibited in London and at a time when the artist was still in his early thirties. They show a Quarry Landscape and Red Quarry, North Wales and carry estimates of £5,000-£7,000 and £3,000-£5,000 respectively.

Relatively small (they measure around 11.5 by 15.5 and 7.5 by 11.5 inches) these pictures are well worth close examination, particularly when seen in conjunction with two later oils, Beans on a Plate with Mush- rooms and Untitled Beige in which the objects represented have been reduced almost to a series of abstract shapes (£35,000-£40,000 and £20,000-£30,000).

So too is a slightly later lot, number 208, a Harry Kernoff oil called At the Theatre Royal and showing the interior of what was for many years Dublin's most famous place of public entertainment. Kernoff, who died in 1974, is very much a name in the ascendant over the past couple of years. Last month, a new record at auction for his work was set by Sotheby's in London where In Davy's Snug: Self-Portrait with Davy Byrne and Martin Murphy more than doubled its pre-sale estimate to go for £119,000 sterling.

It is unlikely that the De Vere's picture will make such a high figure, but it could still do better than the expected sum of £10,000-£15,000. So too could the following pair of lots, coastal seascapes by Nathaniel Hone who is another artist commanding ever-higher prices; those estimated for the forthcoming sale are just £2,500-£3,500 and £3,000-£5,000.

Then comes an example of work by a Northern Irish artist whose reputation is also in the ascendant: William Conor. Ardglass Herrings, a crayon drawing, is a very typical Conor picture, showing everyday urban life as he knew it. This is the first time the item has come up for public sale, having been acquired by the vendor's father directly from the artist; the estimate in this instance is £15,000-£20,000.

If a relatively inexpensive Mary Swanzy is being offered during the first half of the sale, lot 222, an oil called Fishermen, Kilkeel, Co Down carries rather higher expectations, with an estimate of £8,000-£12,000.

Swanzy is only one of the many familiar 20th century artists who appear in the auction's catalogue. Paul Henry, for example, is represented by an oil called Killary Harbour, Connemara with an estimate of £15,000-£20,000; two of Henry's Connemara landscapes recently performed very well at an Irish art sale conducted by Adam's of Dublin, so this one should find a buyer too.

Look out also for a pair of Camille Souter still-life oils (£3,000-£5,000 and £5,000£7,000) and an important early picture by Jack B Yeats, a watercolour called The Farmers' Ordinary which was included in the artist's first London exhibition in 1897 but then remained with Yeats until his death (£25,000-£30,000).

Like the William Scotts in this sale, the early Yeats work may be compared with a much later painting by the same artist, his Hope of 1946 which belongs to his expressionistic period. Finally, among the wealth of items, this sale also includes the only leaded stained glass panel made by Louis Le Brocquy; commissioned by the late Desmond Williams of Tullamore, The Sun is Born into the Autumn Woods contained in a lightbox, signed and dated 1944 is expected to go for £25,000-£35,000.

From the De Vere's Art Auctions sale of Irish art at the RHA Gallagher Gallery on Tuesday, 19th June, is Robert Ballagh's A Man and a Lichenstein, expected to make £2,000 to £3,000