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Lot Essay
In 1946 and 1947, Lowry visited Scotland, where he produced a series of drawings of Glasgow’s docks from which he produced a series of oil paintings. This unusual industrial landscape, dominated by machinery and ships, served as a significant source of inspiration for Lowry, much like the factories of Manchester and Salford. Lowry himself remarked, ‘I'm very fond of ships. The sea, too, I love. Watching it is like letting off steam: it's so vast... I'm particularly fond of watching large ships coming into harbour, or being brought down a river by tugs’ (the artist quoted in M. Leber and J. Sandling (ed.), L.S. Lowry, Oxford, 1987, p. 69).
Compared to his bustling urban scenes, A tramp steamer approaching the Clyde captures a moment of quiet solitude as the boat moves across the water. Michael Howard has noted that 'Leisure boats and working ships held an endless fascination for Lowry, both as motifs in their own right and as sources for painterly effects. He regarded the problems of capturing the immensity of the sea and the quality of the light falling on its ever-changing surface as one of the major artistic challenges of his life' (M. Howard, Lowry A Visionary Artist, Salford, 2000, p. 227). The present composition exemplifies Lowry’s mastery of colour and impasto in rendering the sea’s surface, effectively conveying the shimmering play of light on water. The work encapsulates Lowry’s skill in manipulating his distinctive five-colour palette to represent the sea which upon first glance appears monochrome, but on closer inspection demonstrates a skilful use of yellow ochre, Prussian blue, and red vermillion. His process involved the gradual layering of paint, resulting in a rich textural appearance that draws the viewer in. The present work brings together two important subjects for the artist: Lowry’s enduring fascination with the impact of industrialisation on the landscape and his delight in Scotland’s waters.
Compared to his bustling urban scenes, A tramp steamer approaching the Clyde captures a moment of quiet solitude as the boat moves across the water. Michael Howard has noted that 'Leisure boats and working ships held an endless fascination for Lowry, both as motifs in their own right and as sources for painterly effects. He regarded the problems of capturing the immensity of the sea and the quality of the light falling on its ever-changing surface as one of the major artistic challenges of his life' (M. Howard, Lowry A Visionary Artist, Salford, 2000, p. 227). The present composition exemplifies Lowry’s mastery of colour and impasto in rendering the sea’s surface, effectively conveying the shimmering play of light on water. The work encapsulates Lowry’s skill in manipulating his distinctive five-colour palette to represent the sea which upon first glance appears monochrome, but on closer inspection demonstrates a skilful use of yellow ochre, Prussian blue, and red vermillion. His process involved the gradual layering of paint, resulting in a rich textural appearance that draws the viewer in. The present work brings together two important subjects for the artist: Lowry’s enduring fascination with the impact of industrialisation on the landscape and his delight in Scotland’s waters.