LEALAND R. GUSTAVSON (1894-1966)
"Sixteenth Hole at Augusta National." Watercolor, circa 1960. 559x749 mm; 22x29 1/2 inches (sheet). Signed "Gustavson A.W.S." (American Watercolor Society) in red, lower right image. Tipped to board; matted and framed.

Condition notes:

Artists taped off the top, left side (where the paint bleeds off of the paper into it), and along the bottom. There is some light spotting to the verso, likely from early offsetting from a nonarchival matte.

 

Provenance: From the collection of Dick McDonough.

Reproduced in: Great Golf Collections of the World by Dick McDonough and Peter Georgiady (Ridgeland, SC: Saron Press, Ltd., 2013, page 176).

The sixteenth hole at Augusta is ranked among the top golf holes in the world. Victory at the Masters often comes down to how a player scores on it. Many fans will remember the iconic hole as the location where Tiger Woods executed one of his most historic shots during the 2005 Masters. Its layout has not changed significantly from the year Gustavson created this atmospheric depiction of it.

Gustavson was an excellent golfer himself and illustrated the book How To Play Your Best Golf by Tommy Armour in 1954. He explained that, "eventually, either by choice, economic pressure, or convenient timing, many artists concentrate on a particular subject which they know a great deal about and are able to interpret with precision and meaning. In my own case, that specialty is painting golf subjects. I have been intimately associated with golf since I was a caddie at the age of twelve and have since won five club championships." Gustavson also authored and illustrated the instructional book Enjoy Your Golf: An Illustrated Guide to Better Golf (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1954).