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Lot Essay
The landmarks of the Maryport waterfront are as recognisable today as they were nearly 50 years ago when Lowry painted the large-scale view of Senhouse Street from his vantage point on South Quay. By distancing himself, and therefore us, from the view we become onlookers; the daily life of the Cumbrian fishing port played out in detail against the curiously satisfying, almost symmetrical backdrop of the quayside.
One of Lowry's connections with Maryport was that it was where Geoffrey Bennett ran his bank. Having met in 1926 Lowry and Bennett had a friendship spanning fifty years. Lowry could, however, be typically perverse and on one occasion when the artist was visiting Maryport with Tony Ellis, a friendly curator from Salford, they passed by the door of Bennett's bank on the main street without so much as a word from Lowry (see S. Rohde, L.S. Lowry a biography, Salford, 1999, p. 142).
One of Lowry's connections with Maryport was that it was where Geoffrey Bennett ran his bank. Having met in 1926 Lowry and Bennett had a friendship spanning fifty years. Lowry could, however, be typically perverse and on one occasion when the artist was visiting Maryport with Tony Ellis, a friendly curator from Salford, they passed by the door of Bennett's bank on the main street without so much as a word from Lowry (see S. Rohde, L.S. Lowry a biography, Salford, 1999, p. 142).