John Whyte Melville was a notable figure in mid-19th-century St Andrews and a prominent member of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club. Oil on canvas by Sir Francis Grant, P.R.A. (1803-1878).
He is among the golfers depicted in Charles Lees' masterpiece The Golfers — the painting offered earlier in this collection. If acquired alongside the Lees pair, this Grant portrait closes the historical loop in extraordinary fashion: the same man, painted in life by the President of the Royal Academy.
The present painting is a smaller version of the portrait hanging in The Royal and Ancient Clubhouse, St Andrews, which was commissioned by the members of the Union Club of St Andrews and exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1875 (no. 212), and at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1876 (no. 320).
Oil on canvas
32" x 21 1/2" (frame, approximate)
28½ × 18 “ (painting)
Provenance
Consigned by Descendent of the Artist
Christie's, Scotland 18 July 1991
Purchased by Jaime Ortiz Patino, Spain
Origins of Golf: The Jaime Ortiz Patino Collection
Christie's, Scotland 30 May 2012
Shipping & Conditions of Sale: Exact shipping charges will be invoiced separately. The only payment methods accepted for this Art Sale are wires, ACH, or checks. Please allow up to 4 weeks for delivery, though many will arrive sooner.
Frames: We are selling a piece of artwork, NOT the frame. Expect frames to have condition issues, as many are decades old.
