Golf’s most famous painting to make first U.S. visit

“The Golfers,” an 1847 painting by Charles Lees, is so beloved that a few years back a professor and his students at a Scottish university felt compelled to embark on a genealogy project: track down the descendants of those depicted and re-create the entire scene.

The effect is jarring, particularly because the 21st century characters are inserted into the painting in the same poses. Now the original, copies of which hang at golf courses the world over, will touch down in the U.S. for the first time as the centerpiece of “The Art of Golf” at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

The show opens Feb. 5 and includes Lees’ huge painting, which details a match being played at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland. The golf course hardly looks recognizable compared with today’s crisply manicured greens. (In the painting, it’s so crowded I’m wondering how anyone could take a shot.) Accompanying the painting are sketches, portraits of some of the characters and an early photo Lees used as a prompt while creating the scene, according to a release from the museum.

The exhibition tells the story of golf in about 90 pieces, from a 17th century etching by Rembrandt called “The Ringball Player” to works by James McNeil Whistler and Norman Rockwell as well as antique balls, clothing and clubs. “The Art of Golf” will remain on display until June 24.

Contact: High Museum of Art, (404) 733-4400