Who was L.S. Lowry?
Laurence Stephen Lowry was a painter of working
class urban scenes. He was interested in people and often painted
"matchstick men" but many of his works portray loneliness.
Date and Place of Birth:
1st November 1887, Stretford, Manchester, England.
Christened Laurence Stephen Lowry.
Family Background:
Lowry was the only child of Irish born R.S. Lowry
and Elizabeth Hobson.
Education:
Local School in Victoria Park and privately tutored
by William Fitz. Municipal College of Art (Now Manchester Metropolitan
University) under Adolphe Vallette.
Chronology/Biography of L.S. Lowry:
1904: Found work
as a clerk in a Manchester firm of accountants.
1905: Went to study
art at Manchester School of Art in the evenings (until 1915).
1909: Lowry moved
with his parents to Pendlebury in Salford, now part of Greater Manchester.
1910: He obtained
a job as a rent collector with a Manchester company where he was
to stay for the next 42 years. His vision of the working class streets
was formed in this period whilst he tramped the local streets.
1915: Lowry began
evening classes at Salford School of Art where he first developed
his distinctive style of matchstick figures (until 1925).
1918: Lowry studied
at the life classes at Manchester Academy of Fine Arts.
1919: He exhibited
for the first time at Manchester Art Gallery.
1930's: Began exhibiting
at the Royal Academy in London.
1939: Death of his
mother whom he had lived with all her life and nursed in her final
years.
1945: Lowry awarded
an Honorary MA at Manchester University.
1948: Left Pendlebury
when his landlord repossessed his house and moved to Mottram-in-Longendale
in Cheshire, where he lived until his death.
1950's: Visited
his long time friend Geoffrey Bennett several years running, who
had become the Manager at the National Westminster Bank in Cleator
Moor, Cumbria. Lowry painted a picture of the bank and other local
scenes.
1961: Lowry awarded
an Honorary Doctor of Letters at Manchester University.
1962: Elected as
a Member of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Geoffrey Bennet
becomes an Anglican Clergyman.
1964: The Prime
Minister used his painting "The Pond" as his official
Christmas Card.
"The Lowry" theatre and gallery in Salford on
a former dock of the Manchester Ship Canal.
Holds many of L.S. Lowry's paintings
(© Anthony Blagg)
1965: Lowry made
a Freeman of the City of Salford.
1967: "Coming
out of School" was used for a British Postage Stamp.
Marriage:
Never married.
Date and Place of Death:
23rd February 1976, Glossop, Derbyshire, England.
Age at Death:
88.
Site of Grave:
Chorlton Southern Cemetery next to his
parents.
Places of Interest:
DERBY:
Buxton Art Gallery
Derby Art Gallery
LANCASHIRE:
Bury Art Gallery
LEICESTERSHIRE:
Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester
LONDON:
Tate Modern
Science Museum
GREATER MANCHESTER:
The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, M5 2AZ. (Holds
over 300 of his works).
Manchester Art Gallery
Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester
NORFOLK:
Castle Gallery, Norwich Castle
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE:
Castle Art Gallery, Nottingham
NORTHUMBERLAND:
The Lowry Trail, Berwick-upon-Tweed. Lowry was
especially fond of Berwick and set many of his paintings there.
Tourist trail organised in association with Northumberland County
Council
STAFFORDSHIRE:
Museum and Art gallery, Stoke on Trent
YORKSHIRE:
Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield
SCOTLAND:
Museum and Art Gallery, Kirkaldy
WALES:
Museum and Art Gallery, Newport
NORTHERN IRELAND:
Ulster Museum, Belfast
