Lot 97: PETER MUNRO (ENGLISH, B.1954) THE 18TH AT ROYAL

PETER MUNRO (ENGLISH, B.1954) THE 18TH AT ROYAL LYTHAM & ST ANNES signed l.l; oil on board 39.5cm x 49.5cm; 15 1/2in x 19 1/2in Peter Munro was born in 1954 and he grew up in the Scottish Highlands, where his family ran a timber and forestry company. He came south to complete an honours degree at the Chelsea School of Art in London but soon became disillusioned with the art world and decided to return to Scotland to work in the family business, although he continued to paint on an amateur basis. However, during a visit to Canada in 1985, he was inspired both by the remarkable work of the renowned wildlife artist Robert Bateman and by the powerful, remote and raw Canadian landscapes to return more permanently to the easel and he took up painting as a full-time career in 1987. Concentrating initially upon wildlife work but later upon landscapes and, increasingly, on the beautiful golf courses of the United Kingdom and Eire, the demand for his work continued to increase. Particularly well-known in America, where he and his work have been profiled in leading magazines, Peter Munro has now exhibited at prestigious galleries in Holland, London, America, Canada and throughout the world. His golfing paintings are now celebrated around the world and around 40 of his subjects have been published as limited edition prints, depicting courses ranging from Gleneagles and Troon through to the K Club and Pebble Beach. To coincide with the 2005 British Open at St Andrews, a major exhibition of his original paintings was held at the famous Old Course Hotel in St Andrews during the Open Championship itself, under the title "A Brush with the Old Course". Peter Munro still lives in the Highlands of Scotland, where he gains much of his inspiration from the magnificent wildlife, countryside and golf courses around him.