John Charles Dollman R.W.S

Mr. and Mrs. John Scott, Queenzieburn, Kilsyth;
Bequeathed to Glenbervie Golf Club, 1957

St. Andrew's, The British Golf Museum

The canvas, protected with cardboard on the reverse, is original. There is some very minor frame abrasion to the work at the extreme edges and some tiny pin holes towards the upper edge in places. There is light craquelure to the surface, inlcluding some visible stretcher marks. On very close inspection there appear to be some signs of old paint separation to isolated areas. There is some extremely light surface dirt in places. Otherwise in good original condition. Ultraviolet light reveals some fluorescent areas of pigment in the sky area but this is likely to be intrinsic to the work. There is one tiny suggestion of retouching to the area just left of centre between the two figures. Held in a decorative gold painted composite frame with some minor damage to the extremeities.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present work portrays a scene in the 1840s depicting Lord Rosebery, Admiral Fleming, the Duke of Buccleuch and Lord Charles Hope and their caddies engaged in a tense moment on the first green during a round at North Berwick. The current painting shows clearly two golf balls the nearer of which is impeding the further away ball directly along the line to the hole. Nowadays the ball lying closer to the hole would be 'marked' to give the other ball, when played, unrestricted access to the hole. When the latter ball has been played the other ball would be replaced. However, at the time of the painting the ball lying closer would have remained as an obstruction to the other ball and would not have been 'marked'. This was called a stymie and was subsequently dropped from the modern game as it was deemed to give unfair advantage. The exposed landscape in the background of this picture was, and is still is, one of the main attractions of this wonderful golf course. The exact site is the West Links at North Berwick, a small town lying on the Firth of Forth approximately 25 miles to the east of Edinburgh and close to the world-renowned Muirfield which has hosted the Open Championship a number of times. The West Links present a wonderful golfing challenge with all the holes being highly varied and consisting of a number of memorable pitfalls. The course has regularly been a qualifying course for the Open Championship when it is played at Muirfield. A former captain of the North Berwick Golf Club was Arthur James Balfour who subsequently became British Prime Minister.