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People Watching: The Art of L.S. Lowry ‘When I was young, I did not see the beauty of the Manchester streets … then one day I saw it … suddenly I saw the beauty of the streets and crowds.’ – L. S. Lowry (L. S. Lowry quoted in The Paintings of L. S. Lowry: Oils and Watercolours, London, 1979, p. 17). Christie’s is delighted to present People Watching, the first sale of its kind dedicated entirely to the work of L. S. Lowry. Considered by many to be the quintessential chronicler of industrial Britain during the 20th Century, Lowry is renowned for capturing vivid scenes of the patterns and rituals that dominated everyday life amidst the urban landscape, his subjects and distinctive style instantly recognisable. Spanning the full breadth of his oeuvre , from early landscape sketches created while the artist was studying at the Salford School of Art, to his iconic views of crowds in the industrial heartland of the North of England, and on to his late character studies, each of the nineteen compositions included in People Watching reflects a different facet of Lowry’s unique artistic vision. Lowry’s work would perhaps not have developed in this direction were it not for a sudden, dramatic change of surroundings at the age of twenty-two, when he moved with his parents to the suburb of Pendlebury, between Manchester and Bolton. The area’s stark industrial sprawl had a profound impact upon the artist, taking hold of his imagination. Soon, the towering mills and factories that dominated the cityscape became the primary focus of his art, as did the densely packed rows of terraced houses and networks of narrow streets that surrounded them. But more than the landscape, it was the inhabitants of these neighbourhoods, the people whose lives played out within and amongst the built environment, which fascinated Lowry the most. Whether seen en - masse in a milling crowd or standing alone on a street corner, the artist manages to imbue each of his figures with nuance, detail and a rich sense of character through the briefest strokes of his brush or pencil. Lowry achieved such familiarity with his subjects through his keen observational skills, honed by years traversing these streets as a rent collector for the Pall Mall Property Company. Collecting views and experiences in his mind’s eye, often stopping to sketch particular details or scenes which could then be incorporated into a composition at a later date, Lowry focused his art on the play of life that filled these neighbourhoods. Though several of the scenes that feature in this sale focus on a specific, named locale, Lowry’s works were typically an amalgamation of multiple different moments, perspectives and views, distilled down to their essential, intriguing elements before being translated onto paper or canvas. However, while he carried an in-depth knowledge of the local communities he depicted, Lowry always remained a voyeur, observing from a distance, an outsider looking in. Each of the compositions featured in People Watching bears traces of this aspect of his artistic personality, revealing the people and places, events and rituals, that caught Lowry’s eye as he travelled through these landscapes, never stopping to become involved, but always watching. THE PROPERTY OF A LADY AND GENTLEMAN

LAURENCE STEPHEN LOWRY, R.A. (1887-1976)

A smiling figure with hands clasped

Name: LAURENCE STEPHEN LOWRY, R.A. (1887-1976)
Brand: A smiling figure with hands clasped
Price: 20000.00 GBP
Availability: SoldOut

Price Realised GBP 25,000

Estimate

GBP 18,000 - GBP 25,000

Closed: 2 Jul 2020

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LAURENCE STEPHEN LOWRY, R.A. (1887-1976)

A smiling figure with hands clasped

Price Realised GBP 25,000

Closed: 2 Jul 2020

Price Realised GBP 25,000

Closed: 2 Jul 2020

Details Lot Essay Related Articles More from

LAURENCE STEPHEN LOWRY, R.A. (1887-1976)
A smiling figure with hands clasped
signed and dated 'L.S. Lowry 1970.' (lower left)
pencil on paper
16¹⁄₂ x 11⁷⁄₈ in. (41.9 x 30.1 cm.)
Executed in 1970.

Monty Bloom.
Acquired from the above by the present owner circa 1972.

Liverpool, Tate, Lowry in Liverpool, October 2006 - April 2007, exhibition not numbered.

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.
Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.

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Lot Essay

Mervyn Levy (, London, 1976, under pl. 203) comments on Lowry's depiction of a single standing figure, which the artist frequently executed in drawings from the late 1950s until the end of his life: 'He concentrated upon types, or upon simple situations such as (Private Collection). In most of these drawings the figure is totally isolated in an expanse of white paper - a method which serves to intensify the view, and to concentrate the attention of the spectator solely upon the subject, who is thus exposed as though studied through a telescope or even under a microscope. In this way the artist offers a voyeur's view of his subjects, who are themselves completely unaware that they are being scrutinized: a cruel and telling ploy'. In the present drawing, the figure is joined by a sketch of a tiny dog.

Post Lot Text
Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot. You must pay us an extra amount equal to the resale royalty and we will pay the royalty to the appropriate authority. Please see the Conditions of Sale for further information.