Laurence Stephen Lowry RBA RA is famous for painting and drawing street scenes in the industrial towns of North West England. Born in Greater Manchester in 1887, his pieces mainly depict mid-20th century towns. These include Pendlebury, Lancashire as well as Salford and its vicinity.
After leaving school, Lowry worked as a rent collector for the Pall Mall Company. His job saw him walking the streets of Pendlebury and spending time at Buile Hill Park. In the evenings, Lowry took private lessons in freehand drawing. In 1905, he joined the Manchester School of Art, where he studied under Pierre Adolphe Valette, a French Impressionist. "I cannot overestimate his effect on me," Lowry later said of him. In 1915 he moved on to the Royal Technical Institute, Salford (now the University of Salford) and continued studying until 1925. It was here that he developed an interest in industrial landscapes and people.
To begin with, Lowry's paintings featured a dark, impressionistic style. However, he was encouraged to expand his palette by D. B. Taylor of the Manchester Guardian. This led him to start using a white background in his pieces. His distinctive style was developed during this period, featuring industrial scenes populated with human figures. These came to be referred to as "matchstick men". Of his figures, Lowry once said: "All my people are lonely, and crowds are the most lonely thing of all". He also painted enigmatic landscapes, brooding portraits and sketched in pencil and charcoal.
Lowry created around 9,000 paintings and drawings over his lifetime. We're excited to announce we have a selection of original art by L.S. Lowry available for sale. If you'd like to add an original piece of art by L.S. Lowry to your collection, contact us today.
To enquire about one of our beautiful pieces simply fill out this form and a member of our team will be in touch with you. We can also answer queries about exhibitions, private viewings, restorations and more.
If there's a piece you're particularly interested in, we'd suggest taking advantage of our Artist's apartment for a complimentary one to two night stay while you visit the gallery and the historic surroundings.
