L. S. Lowry facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Laurence Stephen Lowry RBA RA
Lowry at work
Born	Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887-11-01)1 November 1887 Stretford, Lancashire, England
Died	23 February 1976(1976-02-23) (aged 88) Glossop, Derbyshire, England
Education	Manchester Municipal College Salford Technical College
Known for	Painting
Notable work	Going to the Match (1928) Coming from the Mill (1930) Industrial Landscape (1955) Portrait of Ann (1957) Man Lying on a Wall (1957)
Awards	Freedom of the City of Salford Honorary Master of Arts Honorary Doctor of Letters

Laurence Stephen Lowry (born November 1, 1887 – died February 23, 1976) was a famous English artist. He is best known for his paintings and drawings of everyday life in the industrial areas of North West England. He lived and worked in Pendlebury, Lancashire, for over 40 years.

Lowry created a special way of painting. His urban landscapes often showed many tiny human figures. People often called these figures "matchstick men" because they looked like little sticks. He also painted quiet, empty landscapes and serious portraits. Some of his works, called "marionette" pieces, were only found after he died.

Some art critics thought his style was too simple. They called him a "Sunday painter," meaning someone who paints as a hobby. This was because his figures didn't have shadows, and his landscapes often lacked weather effects.

Lowry holds a unique record for turning down British honours. He refused five awards, including a knighthood in 1968. Today, you can see a large collection of his art at The Lowry gallery in Salford Quays. In 2013, a big show of his work opened at the Tate Britain in London. His first solo exhibition outside the UK was held in Nanjing, China, in 2014.

Lowry's Early Life and Inspiration

Lowry's former home, 117 Station Road, Pendlebury, Lancashire

Laurence Stephen Lowry was born on November 1, 1887, in Stretford, Lancashire. His birth was difficult, and his mother, Elizabeth, had hoped for a girl. She was not very happy with him at first. Lowry's father, Robert, was a quiet man who worked as a clerk. Lowry once said his father was "a cold fish."

Lowry's mother was a talented pianist but became ill after his birth. She was a strict and nervous woman. She often used her illness to get attention from her husband and son. Lowry felt he had an unhappy childhood because of this. Even though his mother didn't seem to like his art, some Christmas gifts from his parents were signed "Our dearest Laurie." At school, he didn't make many friends and wasn't good at academics.

When Lowry was 22, in 1909, his family moved to Pendlebury because of money problems. This was an industrial town with many factories and chimneys. At first, Lowry hated it. But after some years, he became very interested in the industrial landscape. He once missed a train and saw a mill with yellow-lit windows against the sky. He realized he had been looking at this scene for years without truly seeing it. This moment inspired much of his future art.

Lowry's Art Education

The Peel Building, where Lowry studied at the Royal Technical College, Salford. It overlooks Peel Park, the subject of a number of his paintings. His pencil drawing "A View from the window of the Royal Technical College, Salford" (1924) was drawn from the balconied window on the upper floor.

After school, Lowry started working for a property company. He would collect rents and spend his lunch breaks drawing. In 1905, he got into the Manchester School of Art. There, he studied with a French artist named Pierre Adolphe Valette. Lowry greatly admired Valette, saying he brought new ideas to the city.

In 1915, Lowry moved to the Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which is now the University of Salford. He continued his art studies there until 1925. During this time, he became very interested in painting industrial scenes. He also started to develop his own unique art style.

At first, Lowry's oil paintings were dark. But a writer from Manchester Guardian newspaper, D. B. Taylor, encouraged him to use lighter colours. Lowry took this advice and began using a white background to make his pictures brighter. This helped him create his famous style of urban landscapes with "matchstick men." He also painted mysterious empty landscapes and serious portraits. Some of his "marionette" works were only found after he died.

Family Changes and Artistic Growth

Lowry's father died in 1932, leaving behind some debts. His mother became very ill and needed Lowry to care for her. He would paint late at night, after his mother had fallen asleep. Many paintings from this time were self-portraits, sometimes called the "Horrible Heads" series. These showed the influence of expressionism and might have been inspired by Vincent van Gogh's art.

Lowry felt sad that he didn't become famous until after his mother died in 1939. He wished she could have seen his success. During the 1930s, he often took holidays in Berwick-upon-Tweed. When World War II started, Lowry became a volunteer fire watcher. In 1943, he was made an official war artist. In 1953, he was chosen as the Official Artist for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

After his mother's death, Lowry became depressed. He didn't take care of his house, and his landlord took it back in 1948. He wasn't poor, so he bought a house called "The Elms" in Mottram in Longdendale. This area was much more rural, and Lowry said he didn't like the house or the place. He stayed there for almost 30 years until he died. Even though he found the house ugly, it was big enough for his studio and his collection of clocks and china.

Lowry's Personal Life

In his later years, Lowry often spent holidays in Sunderland. He would paint scenes of the beach, ports, and coal mines there. If he didn't have his sketchbook, he would draw on envelopes, napkins, or tickets. He often gave these drawings to young people he met. Today, these simple drawings are worth a lot of money.

Lowry was a private person who enjoyed telling stories. His friends noticed that his stories were often funny but not always true. He sometimes made up people or details. For example, he had many clocks in his living room, all set to different times. He gave different reasons for this, sometimes saying he didn't want to know the real time, other times saying it was to avoid all the clocks chiming at once.

Lowry had many lasting friendships, including with the artist Harold Riley. He also bought art from young artists he admired. He supported the career of Sheila Fell, a landscape artist, by buying her paintings and giving them to museums. Lowry never married. He was often seen as a solitary person, but he loved going to football matches. He was a big fan of Manchester City F.C..

Later Years and Retirement

Lowry retired from his job at the Pall Mall Property Company in 1952, on his 65th birthday. In 1957, a 13-year-old schoolgirl named Carol Ann Lowry wrote to him for advice on becoming an artist. He visited her family and became good friends with them. Their friendship lasted for the rest of his life. A BBC Radio 4 show in 2001 told the story of Lowry's friendship with Carol Ann.

In the 1960s, Lowry had art shows in Salford with another artist, Reginald Waywell.

Lowry's Death and Lasting Impact

Grave of L. S. Lowry and his parents in Southern Cemetery, Manchester

Entrance to the Lowry Centre on Salford Quays

Lowry died from pneumonia on February 23, 1976, at the age of 88. He was buried in the Southern Cemetery in Manchester, next to his parents. He left his money and many artworks to Carol Ann Lowry.

Lowry left behind an important cultural legacy. His paintings often sell for millions of pounds and have inspired many other artists. The Lowry art gallery in Salford Quays opened in 2000. It cost £106 million and is named after him. The gallery has the world's largest collection of his work, with 55 paintings and 278 drawings.

In 2005, a statue of Lowry was put up in Mottram in Longdendale, near his home. In 2006, the Lowry Centre in Salford hosted a dance show inspired by his art. In 1987, to celebrate 100 years since his birth, a dance show called A Simple Man was created. It won a BAFTA award in 1988 for best arts program. In 2011, a bronze statue of Lowry was placed in his favourite pub, Sam's Chop House.

In 2013, a major exhibition of his work was held at the Tate Britain in London. His first solo show outside the UK was in Nanjing, China, in 2014.

Awards and Honours Received

L. S. Lowry memorial at Mottram in Longdendale

Lowry received many awards and honours during his life.

• In 1945, he was given an honorary Master of Arts degree by the University of Manchester.
• In 1961, he received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree.
• In April 1955, Lowry became an Associate Member of the Royal Academy of Arts.
• In April 1962, he became a full Royal Academician.
• In 1965, he was given the freedom of the city of Salford.
• In 1975, he received two more honorary Doctor of Letters degrees from the University of Salford and the University of Liverpool.

In 1964, the art world celebrated his 77th birthday with an exhibition of his work. The The Hallé orchestra performed a concert in his honour. The Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, even used Lowry's painting The Pond as his official Christmas card. In 1968, Lowry's painting Coming Out of School was featured on a British postage stamp.

Lowry famously turned down several British honours. He refused to be an Officer (OBE) in 1955 and a Commander (CBE) in 1961. He said there was "little point" after his mother died. He also turned down a knighthood in 1968. He holds the record for refusing the most honours.

Lowry's Thoughts on Art

Lowry often shared his thoughts about his art and life.

• On industrial landscapes: He said he disliked Pendlebury at first, but then became "infatuated" with it. He wondered if anyone had ever seriously painted industrial scenes before.
• On his style: He explained that he wanted to paint what he loved. He made his figures "half unreal" so they wouldn't break the spell of the scene. He said he wasn't thinking like a social reformer. He loved the people and houses as part of a vision.
• On his materials: Lowry said he was a simple man and used simple materials. He used only a few colours: ivory black, vermilion, Prussian blue, yellow ochre, and flake white. He liked oil paints because he could work on them over time.
• On painting seascapes: He saw the sea as a "battle of life" and found it both wonderful and terrible. He often wondered what would happen if the tide didn't turn.
• On art in general: He believed you don't need brains to be a painter, just feelings. He famously said, "I am not an artist. I am a man who paints." When people called him a "Sunday painter," he would say, "I'm a Sunday painter who paints every day of the week."

Notable Works by Lowry

Lowry's art can be found in many public and private collections. The largest collection is at The Lowry gallery in Salford, with about 400 works. The Tate Gallery in London owns 23 of his pieces. His work is also in the MOMA in New York City. The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu in New Zealand has his painting Factory at Widnes (1956).

Lowry created about 1,000 paintings and over 8,000 drawings in his lifetime.

Selected Paintings

• 1920 St Augustine's church
• 1928 Irk Place
• 1935 The Fever Van
• 1936 Laying a Foundation Stone
• 1938 A Cricket Match
• 1941 Houses on a Hill
• 1943 A Fylde Farm — collected by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
• 1943 Going To Work — painted as a war artist
• 1945 V.E. Day
• 1946 Good Friday, Daisy Nook — sold for a record price in 2007
• 1947 A River Bank
• 1947 Iron Works
• 1947 Cranes and Ships, Glasgow Docks
• 1949 Agricultural fair, Mottram-in-Longdendale
• 1949 The Cripples — includes Lowry himself as a disabled person
• 1949 The Football Match — sold for a record price in 2011
• 1949 The regatta
• 1950 The Pond — used as a Christmas card by Prime Minister Harold Wilson
• 1952 Ancoats Hospital Outpatients Hall — a rare indoor scene
• 1953 Football Ground — later renamed Going to the Match
• 1954 Piccadilly Gardens
• 1955 A Young Man
• 1955 Industrial Landscape
• 1956 Fairground at Daisy Nook
• 1960 Old church and steps

Selected Drawings

• 1924 View from a window of the Royal Technical College
• 1924 The Flat Iron Market
• 1928 Newton Mill and bowling green
• 1930 Swinton Industrial Schools
• 1936 Dewars Lane
• 1942 A Bit of Wenlock Edge
• 1947 Figures in lane
• 1945? St Luke's Church, Old Street, London
• 1953 Agecroft regatta

Lowry's Art in Popular Culture

• In 1968, the rock band Status Quo released their hit song "Pictures of Matchstick Men" as a tribute to Lowry.
• In 1978, Brian and Michael had a number one song called "Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs" about Lowry.
• The band Oasis used animation in the style of Lowry's paintings for their music video "The Masterplan" in 2006. The video showed the band in famous Lowry scenes.
• In 2012, Google celebrated Lowry's 125th birthday with a special Google Doodle on their homepage.
• The 2019 film Mrs Lowry & Son shows the relationship between Lowry and his mother.
• The Dutch band Nits wrote a song called Sunday painter inspired by Lowry.

Images for kids

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  'Millworkers' by LS Lowry, on display in the Harris Museum, Preston.

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  LS Lowry pictures in MIMA, Middlesbrough

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  "Oldfield Road Dwellings, Salford", 1927, oil on wood, 43.2 cm × 53.3 cm (17.0 in × 21.0 in), Tate Gallery

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  Going to Work (1943), commissioned by the War Artists' Advisory Committee

See also

In Spanish: L. S. Lowry para niños