Why yes, old boy: let's play a round.

• Position: Museums Today - Charles Lees' exhibition The Art of Golf

"THE ART OF GOLF," devoted to the artistic representation of the sport, demonstrates the fascinating interrelationship of art and sport in Victorian Britain, and is highlighted by "The Golfers" a renowned 1847 work by painter Charles Lees. The exhibit coincides with the centennial of the U.S. Open Championship, which will take place in June at the Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pa.

A pupil of Sir Henry Raeburn, Edinburgh's finest portrait painter of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Lees painted "The Golfers" to record a memorable match played at St. Andrews in Scotland (which subsequently went on to be the site of a number of British Open tournaments). The work is considered to be his masterpiece and the greatest painting devoted to this subject. Upon completion, Lees' seven-foot-wide canvas was engraved and copies of the print sold briskly in Edinburgh, attesting to the popularity of the sport and the celebrity of its key figures.

Lent by the National Galleries of Scotland, this remarkable painting focuses on a critical moment of play. Four principal players stand at the heart of the action, surrounded by more than 50 spectators, each of whom is an identifiable 19th-century golfer, enthusiast, or authority on the sport. Charming anecdotal figures such as the "ginger beer girl" standing near the right edge of the scene and the fashionable group conversing on the left reflect Lees' skillful use of small details to convey nuances of character and behavior. They further suggest the public engagement and spectacle associated with such sporting matches.

Lees made a number of meticulous studies for this painting--several of which are included in the exhibition--and invited some of the principal figures depicted in it to model for him. A carbon print by Scottish photographers Robert Adamson and David Octavius Hill helped the artist capture the poses of the key players.

Also on view in the exhibition are portraits; oil sketches; a historic feather golf hall jacketed in bull's hide; a silver trophy; antique Scottish clubs...