A rare portrait of the Scottish golfer who redesigned the Old Course at St Andrews could fetch more than £500,000 at auction.
A portrait of Tom Morris – sometimes referred to as Old Tom – was given an estimate of of £350,000-550,000 ahead of its sale.
The painting, titled A Portrait of Tom Morris Senior, by portrait artist Henry Brooks, is being sold by auctioneers Bonhams in an online sale which closes on Wednesday July 13.
May Matthews, Bonhams Head of Scottish Art, said it was “entirely appropriate” that the “very rare” painting of Morris was being put up for sale just before The Open gets under way at St Andrews.
Contemporary portraits of Morris are very rare – this is only one of three known to have been painted in his lifetime – and I expect great interest from collectors and golf enthusiasts the world over.— May Matthews, Bonhams Head of Scottish Art
Morris won The Open four times during his life, but is equally remembered for his work as a course designer, having designed or remodelled an estimated 75 golf courses, including most famously that of the Old Course at St Andrews where the 18th hole is named in his honour.
Morris is still the oldest winner of The Open, after his final victory in 1867, at the age of 46.
That was three years after he had returned to St Andrews, where he was born in 1821, with the job of restoring the links course after it had fallen into disrepair.
He used what was then an innovative technique with sand to help nurse the greens back to health, widened the fairways and also developed a more strategic approach to the placement of bunkers.
In 1873 the course was considered worthy of hosting its first Open.
Ms Matthews stated: “It is an immense privilege to be entrusted with this wonderful portrait. Tom Morris was not only a great figure in the world of golf but also a truly great Scot.
“It feels entirely appropriate that we should be offering it for sale during this year’s Open Championship at St Andrews, a course with which Tom Morris will always be so closely associated.
“Contemporary portraits of Morris are very rare, this is only one of three known to have been painted in his lifetime, and I expect great interest from collectors and golf enthusiasts the world over.”
The painting has been owned by Glasgow Golf Club since 1908 – the year Morris died – but for some years now it has been on loan to the R&A World Golf Museum in St Andrews.
Money raised from the sale of the painting will be used by Glasgow Golf Club to help fund future projects.
