"The Art of the Links" 2017 De St Jorre, John

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DE ST JORRE, John

[201] pp.

New York: The Links

2017

12" x 9 1/2"

Illustrated from photographs by C. … Read more DE ST JORRE, John

[201] pp.

New York: The Links

2017

12" x 9 1/2"

Illustrated from photographs by C. J. Walker

The Links is a private club in New York City. It is located at 36 East 62nd Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Charles B. Macdonald, a golf champion and founder of the United States Golf Association, started the Links in 1917 as a place where powerful members of the golf world could keep the true spirit of the game alive.

The club was established in 1916-1917 by Charles B. Macdonald, in a building designed in the Georgian Revival architectural style by Cross & Cross. In the 1960s, it was "a preferred social gathering spot for America's most powerful chief executives." By 2010, it was still a "preserve of the old banking elite", but not all members were WASPs.

While ostensibly a book about the club’s spectacular collection of artwork, the book also gives a fuller history than the smaller 2004 book. It begins with the story of how the adjacent townhouse blew up in spectacular fashion in 2006, damaging The Links. While tragic, it was also an opportunity for the club to refurbish. Among other things discovered during the repairs the club undertook were original hardwood floors that had been covered by carpets for decades and bookshelves hidden behind wood panels in the Sir Christopher Wren Room (which serves as the club’s library). The history also discusses the creation of a new wine room where members hold intimate private dinners.

Many of the pictures and paintings among the art collection at The Links are not golf related. Many are nautically themed, including those of Commodore Robert Field Stockton and Captain James Lawrence, as well as other important American historical figures including Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower and Abraham Lincoln.

The book is full of two-page spreads of each room in the historic townhouse and the chapters are organized by floor. Since each floor of The Links has a distinct feel and décor, this was a wise choice. The centerpiece of the club is undoubtedly the counter-clockwise green staircase that runs from top to bottom. The staircase it is lined by Mezzotints, which were donated by Henry C. Frick (a one-time chairman of Carnegie Steel Corporation and a friend of the club’s founder C.B. Macdonald), who knew a thing or two about art.

Among the most desirable places in the club is the snug second-floor bar which has the original painting First Meeting of the North Berwick Golf Club by Sir Francis Grant behind it. The book notes, unsurprisingly, that the bar is an “Unusually private and popular corner in the heart of the club.” Having been fortunate to visit The Links a handful of times I count it among my two favorite bars, along with the gracious and inviting one at Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton, Massachusetts.

In addition to giving an intimate look at the interior of the club room by room, the book is also a catalog of their impressive artwork collection. The artwork is of the highest order and is was captured by the photographer C. J. Walker, who also did a masterful job in terms of quality.

The book also describes how the U.S.G.A. used to hold their annual dinner at the club before they started to move the venue to different locations. The U.S.G.A. has long had an association with The Links and grants the current president of the association an honorary membership during their tenure. See less