Laurence Stephen Lowry, R.A. (1887-1976)

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The following group of nine paintings and drawings by L.S. Lowry are from the collection of a close friend of the artist, acquired over nearly a quarter of a century, and now in the possession of his immediate family. Lowry's friend was also a regular caller at 'The Elms', the artist's home in Mottram in Longdendale, and the pair lunched together every Tuesday, more often than not in Huddersfield, so that Lowry could visit his framer (Mountain Road, lot 130, is a sketch given after one such lunch on 11 October 1969). Because of the friendship between the two men, Lowry's own thoughts and comments on these pictures have survived. We can know that he considered the crowd gathered around the cricket sight board in lot 124 as 'one of my most successful crowd scenes', and that The Two Brothers, lot 122, was the artist's favourite painting; 'it is absolutely symbolic of life' he commented to his friend. Property from a Family Collection

Laurence Stephen Lowry, R.A. (1887-1976)

The Two Brothers

Details

Laurence Stephen Lowry, R.A. (1887-1976)
The Two Brothers
signed and dated 'L.S. LOWRY 1960' (lower right)
oil on canvas
24 x 12½ in. (60.8 x 31.7 cm.)

Provenance

with Lefevre Gallery, London.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 9 December 1970, lot 103, where purchased by the present owner's father, and by descent.

Literature

A. Andrews, The Life of L.S. Lowry, London, 1977, pp. 104-105.

Exhibited

Edinburgh, Scottish Arts Council Gallery, L.S. Lowry, December 1977 - January 1978, no. 54: this exhibition toured to Hawick, Wilton Lodge Museum, January - February 1978; Aberdeen, Art Gallery, February - March 1978; Dundee, Museum and Art Gallery, March - April 1978; Inverness, Museum and Art Gallery, April - May 1978; and Perth, Museum and Art Gallery, May - June 1978.
Salford, The Lowry, on loan.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

Lowry had commented that this was his favourite picture '"It is absolutely symbolic of life" he said. "There are those two fellows, they could be brother salesmen, they could be calling door to door collecting insurance. There are two figures in the back whom I don't mean to be policemen but who could easily be taken for such. There's the church at the back, the two little kids there, and these two poor devils going about their business. Now that's the industrial scene, too"' (see A. Andrews, loc. cit.).

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