Charles Lees

1800 - 1880

Charles Lees was a Scottish portrait painter with a keen interest in sporting subjects. Born in Cupar, Fife, he began his career as a pupil of Sir Henry Raeburn and spent the majority of his working life in Edinburgh, having his studio at 19 Scotland Street. Charles Lees achieved initial renown as a portrait painter, his accomplishments leading to his election to the Royal Scottish Academy in 1830. He later served as the Academy's Treasurer.
Lees is perhaps best known for his work specialising in sporting and recreational subjects, especially his 1847 painting 'The Golfers, St Andrews'. The original painting measured 4ft. 3" by 7ft. and featured a match on the fifteenth green on the old course.
He also painted a 'Golf Match' in 1847 and a 'Summer Evening at Musselburgh' in 1859. His other great picture was 'The Grand Curling Match at the Royal Caledonian Curling Club at Linlithgow'.

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