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Lot Essay
Waiting for the Bus, 1959, is a charming example of Lowry’s ability to capture a family group in a simple yet strikingly effective composition. Although devoid of any context, it is immediately apparent that this small group are waiting on a pavement and the artist needs no background beyond his familiar white ground to indicate that they are in an urban setting. A mother with her two children, their relationship clearly gathered from the distinctive wave and colour of each one’s hair, stand with their backs to the viewer and yet we can see from their stance that they are in the attitude of waiting. The mother’s head is in profile as she looks to her left, anticipating the arrival of the bus while her right hand is poised to reach out and grab her daughter’s hand, since she has turned away and appears not to be paying attention. This familiar scene is instantly recognisable even though we have only caught a glimpse of it.
The present work is a compelling example of Lowry’s shift in artistic focus after the war years. By the 1950s, Manchester had experienced a vast programme of urban renewal, as the regeneration of poorer areas made way for improved living and working conditions. The mills and factories of Lowry’s youth were disappearing, and local communities now became the focus of Lowry’s interest. Office workers and families populated his artistic vision, replacing the mill workers, and his focus on individuals turned his landscapes into urban portraits. We see families with dogs, small groups, or solitary figures making their way around their neighbourhoods, as the sense of community has shifted from the mills to the churches, city centres, parks, and sportsgrounds. Individuals no longer swarm like worker bees to the sound of the factory bell, and this allows Lowry’s figures to grow in size and importance within his compositions as a sense of leisure and relaxation now prevails.
Waiting for the Bus, 1959, was exhibited by Lowry at his principal London dealer, the Lefevre Gallery, in 1961, where it was purchased by the first owner in whose collection it remained for almost half a century. It was purchased a second time in 2005 and has remained in the same private ownership for over twenty years.
The present work is a compelling example of Lowry’s shift in artistic focus after the war years. By the 1950s, Manchester had experienced a vast programme of urban renewal, as the regeneration of poorer areas made way for improved living and working conditions. The mills and factories of Lowry’s youth were disappearing, and local communities now became the focus of Lowry’s interest. Office workers and families populated his artistic vision, replacing the mill workers, and his focus on individuals turned his landscapes into urban portraits. We see families with dogs, small groups, or solitary figures making their way around their neighbourhoods, as the sense of community has shifted from the mills to the churches, city centres, parks, and sportsgrounds. Individuals no longer swarm like worker bees to the sound of the factory bell, and this allows Lowry’s figures to grow in size and importance within his compositions as a sense of leisure and relaxation now prevails.
Waiting for the Bus, 1959, was exhibited by Lowry at his principal London dealer, the Lefevre Gallery, in 1961, where it was purchased by the first owner in whose collection it remained for almost half a century. It was purchased a second time in 2005 and has remained in the same private ownership for over twenty years.