But what can you actually get for your money?

Anyone entering an auction goes in with a sense of anticipation and trepidation. You could get the bargain of a lifetime, or you could end up getting caught in a rush of auction-fever and paying way over the odds for a piece of work.

But what is certainly true is that there will be something to suit practically every budget, even those who have hundreds, rather than thousands, to spend.

It is difficult to pin down exactly what you can get at the lower end of the budget . . . and in many cases, you will be comparing apples with oranges, with lesser pieces by established artists coming in at the same prices as quality works by up-andcoming artists, or genericlooking landscapes by long-forgotten painters. But in the less than 1,000 bracket, you could be looking at a Stella Steyn watercolour, or maybe a Dublin print by James Malton. A recent auction even sold a pen and ink by no less a figure than William Orpen for under 500.

It is in the 1,000 to 5,000 bracket that much of the activity takes place.

For example, you might be looking at a smaller work by Markey Robinson, or an aquatint by Louis le Brocquy. Small oils by John Kingerlee and Sean McSweeney have also been sold for around 4,000, while Nano Reid's unique works usually tend to occupy this price bracket. You can also pick up pieces by the likes of Brian Ballard and Kenneth Webb in this sector, although they can also sell for much more.

This is often the trouble with trying to place artists in a price bracket. Depending on medium, size and quality, some artists can span practically any price category. For example, Markey might have some works for around 2,000, but he is frequently found in the 5,000 to 15,000 bracket alongside such established artists as Evie Hone and Mainie Jellett, Daniel O'Neill, Tony O'Malley and Colin Middleton.

Kenneth Webb landscapes often sell for between 7,000 and 9,000, while such international luminaries as Sean Scully and Neil Shawcross can also occupy this mid-to-upper price range.

But it is in the 15,000 to 50,000 bracket that things really get serious. Certainly Scully and Shawcross are no strangers to this sector, and they are joined by the likes of Gerard Dillon ( 30,000+), John Shinnors ( 20,000+) and Patrick Scott (varies).

And then there are the superstars, operating in the 50,000+ bracket. These include Jack B Yeats (usually more than 150,000 for a representative oil), Sean Scully (again), and George Russell (AE), who can sell for around the 60,000 mark. Paul Henry's atmospheric landscapes have sold for in excess of 200,000, while Louis le Brocquy, he who appears across practically every level of auction, recently went for 793,000 at an auction by Whytes.

But then, he had already broken the 1m barrier, as had Jack Yeats . . . so, in terms of some Irish art, the sky really is the limit.