Monty Bloom's passion for the work of L.S. Lowry began by chance when he caught the end of John Read's 1957 documentary series for the BBC, Artist into Film: L.S. Lowry. Read had pioneered the use of tape recording and hearing the artist speak in the film gave the viewer a more intimate and revelatory experience. Bloom, a successful businessman from Southport, had been born in the Rhondda Valley in Wales and the film prompted him to approach Ted Frape, the curator at Salford City Art Gallery, to commission Lowry to paint an industrial landscape that would remind Bloom of his childhood home. The artist and patron later met at the Kalman Gallery in Manchester and a visit to the artist's studio ensued. On seeing the mass of paintings there, Bloom found that he preferred Lowry's figure studies to the industrial landscapes and bought four paintings on the spot. Lowry had now found a patron for the pictures that he really wanted to paint, the people that he observed on the streets of Manchester, but which he found difficult to sell with Reid and Lefevre, his dealers in London. A life-long friendship commenced between the two men, and at one time, Bloom, and his wife Phyllis, owned over one hundred paintings. On his death, Christie's held the sale of The Monty Bloom Collection on 9 June 2000, from where the present work was purchased.
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.