Michael Moynihan: A shame to lose this vivid impression of sporting life

Your columnist is no art expert, though he likes recycling his favourite line of criticism occasionally. (When the King of France viewed Géricault’s painting The Raft of the Medusa, he remarked: “M. Géricault, your shipwreck is no disaster.” Kudos to anyone who can mail me the name of the band which used Géricault’s painting on an album cover.)

However, my interest was piqued by news from Sotheby’s last week, where Cork Bowler by Gabriel Hayes, from the collection of Eddie Jordan, was sold for €94,949 (against a reserve of €33,900–€56,500, incidentally), to a US buyer.