When it comes to golf artwork, there’s one painting to rule them all: “The Bunker.” It was painted in 1894 by British painter Charles Edmund Brock, and is known as one of the most renowned golf paintings in the world. In fact, it’s so famous that some call it the “Mona Lisa of golf paintings.”
Part of what makes “The Bunker” so valuable is the fact that Brock rarely did golf paintings. Only three are known to exist, with the other two being “The Drive” and “The Putt.” The three paintings were all done by Brock in 1894 as a part of the same series — a very expensive series, at that.
Incredibly, Ryan and Bob from Back9Network’s “Golf Treasures” were able to get their hands on “The Bunker” from a private collector to feature in one of their auctions.
Here’s a part of the listing on Green Jacket Auctions describing just how expensive these paintings are.
“Brock is believed to have only painted three golf paintings in his entire career – The Bunker; The Drive; and The Putt – all of which were painted in 1894 as part of the same series. These paintings were famously acquired together by a Japanese collector in 1991 for an astounding $1.5 million (photo below: Golfiana Magazine, Volume 3, Number 4 (1991)). That pegs the “per painting” sales price for each of the three paintings at $500,000. In our opinion, however, that number is misleading, as The Bunker is widely considered to be the most impressive of Brock’s 3 golf paintings, and would surely sell for a premium above the other two works. Outside the world of golf collecting, Brock’s original paintings also have an impressive track record of high sales prices in the art world. The most recent non-golf Brock painting to be sold publicly was a much later painting of the Queen Mother which sold for over $150,000 at a Lyon & Turnbull auction in the UK. In fact, the value of Brock’s works in the art world is such that it is debatable whether the offered work is best sold in a golf auction; perhaps instead belonging alongside Master works at a Sotheby’s or Christie’s art auction. At the end of the day, our consignor really wants to see this piece ultimately reside in a prominent golf collection.”
To see how the painting was acquired by Ryan and Bob, tune into an all-new “Golf Treasures” airing Monday at 9 p.m. EST on Back9Network — DIRECTV channel 262.
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