A painting from almost 150 years ago, part of Adam’s art sale next week, sums up the state we’re in today

COULD A picture be more topical? Insolvent may be almost 150 years old but the painting, by artist Erskine Nicol, pretty much sums up the state we’re in. The Scottish-born artist, who had a studio at Clonave, Co Westmeath, is best known for his depictions of misery in post-Famine Ireland.

This painting, from 1862, was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London the following year and shows a man – clearly broke – desperately trying to get a sup of whiskey in a shebeen. But the landlady looks as formidably implacable as Madame Lagarde and poor Paddy’s thirst appears likely to go unquenched. With an estimate of €15,000-€20,000, you’ll need to be pretty flush to bid for it at Adam’s art auction next week.

Meanwhile, lot 80 is proof that art can, sometimes, prove to be a great investment. Italian with Fowl by Gerard Dillon was included in the 1949 Irish Exhibition of Living Artists – priced at just £25 – and was bought directly from the artist by the current owner. The picture has not been seen in public since and is now estimated at €25,000-€35,000.

Paintings by this Belfast-born artist, who died in 1971, especially those from his travels in Italy, are increasingly popular and selling well. Last Christmas at Adam’s, Dillon’s The Italian Washer Women sold for €68,000 (€40,000-€60,000).

The sale also features important works by Paul Henry, whose Connemara Landscape with Cottage carries an estimate of €60,000-€80,000 while Jack B Yeats’s The Westering Sun, dating from 1951, is the top lot in the sale (€80,000-€120,000).

Sir John Lavery loved Morocco, visiting the country annually from 1891, and acquired a house in Tangier, called Dar El Midfah. His view of The Harbour, Tangier 1912 is estimated at €40,000-€60,000. Last Thursday, his Victorian tennis scene Played!! was the top-selling painting by an Irish-born artist at Christie’s sale in London (see results below).

The Story of the Hunt (1880), an oil-on-canvas by Thomas Hovenden, is likely to attract interest from American collectors. The Cork-born artist, who emigrated to the United States, died in 1895 when he was struck by a train while trying to save a young girl who had wandered onto the tracks. The New York Times ran a headline: “Artist Hovenden A Hero”. The picture, painted during a trip to Brittany, shows a huntsman with rifle regaling listeners with news of his day. The estimate is €50,000-€70,000.

Among the more affordable lots is an attractive image by Oisín Roche of Dublin’s Castle Market, a pedestrianised street on the walk-through from Grafton to South Great George’s Street – estimated at €1,000-€2,000.

Adam’s important Irish art sale is at 26 St Stephen’s Green on Wednesday at 6pm.