River Scene

Details

Laurence Stephen Lowry, R.A. (1887-1976)
River Scene
signed and dated 'L.S. LOWRY 1944' (lower left)
oil on panel
7¾ x 15¾ in. (19.7 x 40 cm.)

Provenance

with Lefevre Gallery, London.
Brigadier R.A. Hamlyn.
with Crane Kalman Gallery, London, where purchased by the present owner in November 1987.

Exhibited

Sheffield, Graves Art Gallery, The Works of L.S. Lowry, September - October 1962, no. 39.
Manchester, City Art Gallery, L.S. Lowry Retrospective Exhibition, June - July 1959, no. 41.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The location of the present work has been identified as the River Irwell at Salford. The river, which forms a loop along Peel Park across the Crescent and down the Adelphi section of Salford towards Manchester, was an important subject for Lowry. One of the earliest drawings he made of the view was executed in 1924, a topographical drawing which he kept so that the image could be used again and again, either as a whole, or with modifications (see J. Sandling and M. Leber, Lowry's City, Salford, 2000, p. 39).

The River Irwell often flooded in winter and the present work would appear to show the devastation and desolation created by the high level of the water, the icy-white of the water contrasting sharply with the dark greens and blacks of the landscape.

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