L.S. Lowry
1887–1976
© The estate of L.S. Lowry
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© The estate of L.S. Lowry
License this image
In Tate Liverpool
Constellations: L.S. Lowry
Free entry
In Tate Britain
Walk Through British Art: 1950
Free entry
In Tate Britain
Prints and Drawings Rooms
View by AppointmentBiography
Laurence Stephen Lowry (LAO-ree; 1 November 1887 – 23 February 1976) was an English artist. Many of his drawings and paintings depict Pendlebury, Lancashire, where he lived and worked for more than 40 years, and also Salford and its surrounding areas.
Lowry is famous for painting scenes of life in the industrial districts of North West England in the mid-20th century. He developed a distinctive style of painting and is best known for his urban landscapes peopled with human figures often referred to as "matchstick men". He painted mysterious unpopulated landscapes, brooding portraits and the unpublished "marionette" works, which were only found after his death.
Due to his use of stylized figures and the lack of weather effects in many of his landscapes he is sometimes characterized as a naïve "Sunday painter", although this is not the view of the galleries that have organised retrospectives of his works.
A large collection of Lowry's work is on permanent public display in The Lowry, a purpose-built art gallery on Salford Quays, named in his honour. Lowry rejected five honours during his life, including a knighthood in 1968, and consequently holds the record for the most rejected British honours. On 26 June 2013 a major retrospective opened at the Tate Britain in London, his first at the Tate, and in 2014 his first solo exhibition outside the UK was held in Nanjing, China.
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Read full Wikipedia entryArtworks
Artist as subject
Prunella Clough Diary
18 November 1944–27 February 1947
Film and audio
How To
How to Paint Like Lowry
Ever wondered how L.S. Lowry made his artwork? Join artist Kathryn Edwards to learn about perspective, form and colour
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Lowry: The Bigger Picture
Claire Stewart gives an introduction to aspects of Lowry’s work not included in the exhibition, such as his extraordinary ...
TateShots
L.S. Lowry: Curatorial walkthrough
Lowry is Britain's preeminent painter of the industrial city
Features
Blog
Unseen Lowry: sketches and stamps
Curator Claire Stewart at The Lowry in Salford opens up the archive of Lowry's work - from stamps of his ...
Blog
Lowry's final ambition
As our Lowry show enters its final weeks, Assistant Curator, Helen Little, takes a closer look at his large-scale industrial ...
Blog
Lowry after the war
Helen Little, Assistant Curator of the Lowry and the Painting of Modern Life exhibition at Tate Britain, examines how Lowry ...
Blog
Artist George Shaw: Lowry's pictures weren't the world I knew
On the blog today, a guest post from the former Turner Prize nominee whose childhood in a post-war housing estate ...
Blog
A rare view: Lowry's men at work
Helen Little, the Assistant Curator of our Lowry show, delves into one of the artist’s rare depictions of manual labour ...
Read
Why I love Lowry, by British Sea Power's Yan
The lead singer of the band British Sea Power, Yan, reveals why he loves Lowry, the man and humanist - daily ...
Blog
Work of the week: Coming Out of School by L. S. Lowry
With the arrival of September, ease yourself back into the daily round with Lowry’s Coming out of School
Tate Etc
Visionary painter of the edgelands: Lowry at Tate Britain IV
A poet who grew up with Lowry’s popular prints in the family home and his mother’s stories about ...
Blog
Why our Lowry show is only part of the story
Hundreds of you have shared your thoughts and questions on Tate Britain's Lowry show with our Assistant Curator Helen ...
Tate Etc
Small impressions of Manchester: Behind the Curtain
A little-known oil sketch by L.S. Lowry's teacher Adolphe Valette was recently discovered in the Tate archive. Valette ...
Sketches, letters, etc.
L.S. Lowry, recipients: Geoffrey S. Bennett, Alice Bennett Sketches of heads and figures
04 April 1966
Geoffrey Eric Bennett b1939 Autograph book containing drawings and signatures
1948–80
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