Laurence Stephen Lowry R.A. (British, 1887-1976) Three Figures 34.5 x...
Laurence Stephen Lowry R.A. (British, 1887-1976)
Three Figures
signed and dated 'L S. LOWRY 1965' (lower left)
oil on board
34.5 x 23.4 cm. (13 1/2 x 9 1/8 in.)
Provenance
With Crane Kalman Gallery, London, where acquired by
Mrs B. Stone, 4 June 1970
With Halcyon Gallery, London, 2006, where acquired by the present owner
Private Collection, U.K.
'I feel more strongly about these people than ever I did about the industrial scene '
(L.S. Lowry quoted in Shelley Rohde, L.S. Lowry, A Biography, Lowry Press, Salford, p.360)
In the years leading up to Three Figures, Lowry had gained great commercial success with his industrial landscapes. There was enormous demand for these paintings, a great vindication for Lowry of the importance, integrity and beauty of the subject matter that he had painted for nearly forty years. At this time however, he decided to change course having no more desire to paint such scenes. The subject matter that had been a key part of his life, factories with belching chimneys, dingy streets of terraces and dirty canals was fast disappearing, either destroyed in the Second World War, or cleared away in the frenzy of post-war development. The landscape of Britain was in flux, and in a remark to Frank Mullineux, Lowry said 'The strangest thing is that when the industrial scene passed out in reality, it passed out of my mind. I could not do it now, I have no desire to do it now, and that would show' ((L.S. Lowry, quoted in T.G. Rosenthal, L.S. Lowry: The Art and the Artist, Norwich, 2010, p. 139).
This led to a shift in artistic direction moving away from his industrial scenes and becoming increasingly interested in the individual characters who formerly occupied his crowds. In 1964, a year prior to the present work, when asked by a group of students from Stafford College of Art what has impressed him more than anything else, Lowry replied simply 'People every time' (Shelly Rohde, L.S. Lowry, A Life, 2007, Haus, London, p.228). People, their characters, habits, oddities and eccentricities lie at the heart of Lowry's work from his formative to his final years and this aspect of his output is perhaps at its sharpest in the closely observed figurative pictures that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s and subsequently become one of his dominant practices.
The present such example depicts three young children, identifiable by their school uniforms. The two outer figures appear to be male and wear the same red scarves, black jackets and shorts with white socks whilst the central tallest child is suggested as female through her long hair and different uniform with red hat and socks. Together they dominate the composition but their interaction, not to mention the purposefully vague title of Three Figures, offers no insight to the dynamic of the group and the scene is steeped in Lowry's inimitable ambiguity. The central and right-hand figures stare directly out at us, almost as though caught unawares, and the viewer is left feeling like we have stepped into their world uninvited and startled them mid-conversation. The thick impasto of the face of the right-hand child bears an almost quizzical expression, as though wondering why we are looking at them whilst the central child appears surprised (or alarmed even?) with open mouth and raised eyebrows. In contrast, the left-hand figure is rendered in quiet profile, with lowered head and praying hands. Why is he isolated? Are these children friends or foes? Have we disturbed them mid-mischief? As is usually the case with Lowry's figures, we are left to make up our own minds as to what is happening and whilst decoding these pictures may be key to their appeal to us, Lowry insisted conclusions are best avoided, famously noting 'I'm not trying to say anything. I have no message at all – it's simply my way of looking at things' (loc. cit.).
The figurative works of this period are often painted on a small scale with the Three Figures being a sizeable example at 13.5 inches. The presence of these substantial figures is further reinforced through the immediacy of their positioning. Placed front and centre and commanding the picture plane, they are silhouetted against an unusual and vivid blue background. The use of blue as a solid background is extremely rare in Lowry's oeuvre with only a handful of examples (but no figure groups) ever having appeared at auction. Better known for his signature flake white backgrounds, Lowry reserved a blue background for major single figure compositions such as the seminal Head of a Man (with Red Eyes) 1938 (The Lowry, Salford), A Young Man 1955 (Tate, London) or his powerful self-portrait from 1938 on loan to National Portrait Gallery, London.
Michael Howard has commented that 'his people are individualised in a way that his earlier inhabitants of the urban scene were not. Unlike his industrial figures, they are not set in a specifically urban framework; the world they inhabit is nebulous, uncertain and empty, as mysterious and ambiguous as they are themselves' (Michael Howard, Lowry: A Visionary Artist, Lowry Press, Salford, 2000, p.195). The environment of the present work is merely hinted at by three horizontal bands, two below the children's feet serving to ground them in space, and a further line running behind their legs. No clues are given as to whether their interaction is even inside or outside.
Dating from a time that Lowry described as 'I think that this is my best period. I think I am saying more, going deeper into life than I did' (op. cit., p.201) and available on the open market for the first time, Three Figures presents an important opportunity to acquire one of Lowry's distinctive and rare 'blue paintings'.
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Laurence Stephen Lowry R.A. (British, 1887-1976)
Three Figures
signed and dated 'L S. LOWRY 1965' (lower left)
oil on board
34.5 x 23.4 cm. (13 1/2 x 9 1/8 in.)
Provenance
With Crane Kalman Gallery, London, where acquired by
Mrs B. Stone, 4 June 1970
With Halcyon Gallery, London, 2006, where acquired by the present owner
Private Collection, U.K.
'I feel more strongly about these people than ever I did about the industrial scene '
(L.S. Lowry quoted in Shelley Rohde, L.S. Lowry, A Biography, Lowry Press, Salford, p.360)
In the years leading up to Three Figures, Lowry had gained great commercial success with his industrial landscapes. There was enormous demand for these paintings, a great vindication for Lowry of the importance, integrity and beauty of the subject matter that he had painted for nearly forty years. At this time however, he decided to change course having no more desire to paint such scenes. The subject matter that had been a key part of his life, factories with belching chimneys, dingy streets of terraces and dirty canals was fast disappearing, either destroyed in the Second World War, or cleared away in the frenzy of post-war development. The landscape of Britain was in flux, and in a remark to Frank Mullineux, Lowry said 'The strangest thing is that when the industrial scene passed out in reality, it passed out of my mind. I could not do it now, I have no desire to do it now, and that would show' ((L.S. Lowry, quoted in T.G. Rosenthal, L.S. Lowry: The Art and the Artist, Norwich, 2010, p. 139).
This led to a shift in artistic direction moving away from his industrial scenes and becoming increasingly interested in the individual characters who formerly occupied his crowds. In 1964, a year prior to the present work, when asked by a group of students from Stafford College of Art what has impressed him more than anything else, Lowry replied simply 'People every time' (Shelly Rohde, L.S. Lowry, A Life, 2007, Haus, London, p.228). People, their characters, habits, oddities and eccentricities lie at the heart of Lowry's work from his formative to his final years and this aspect of his output is perhaps at its sharpest in the closely observed figurative pictures that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s and subsequently become one of his dominant practices.
The present such example depicts three young children, identifiable by their school uniforms. The two outer figures appear to be male and wear the same red scarves, black jackets and shorts with white socks whilst the central tallest child is suggested as female through her long hair and different uniform with red hat and socks. Together they dominate the composition but their interaction, not to mention the purposefully vague title of Three Figures, offers no insight to the dynamic of the group and the scene is steeped in Lowry's inimitable ambiguity. The central and right-hand figures stare directly out at us, almost as though caught unawares, and the viewer is left feeling like we have stepped into their world uninvited and startled them mid-conversation. The thick impasto of the face of the right-hand child bears an almost quizzical expression, as though wondering why we are looking at them whilst the central child appears surprised (or alarmed even?) with open mouth and raised eyebrows. In contrast, the left-hand figure is rendered in quiet profile, with lowered head and praying hands. Why is he isolated? Are these children friends or foes? Have we disturbed them mid-mischief? As is usually the case with Lowry's figures, we are left to make up our own minds as to what is happening and whilst decoding these pictures may be key to their appeal to us, Lowry insisted conclusions are best avoided, famously noting 'I'm not trying to say anything. I have no message at all – it's simply my way of looking at things' (loc. cit.).
The figurative works of this period are often painted on a small scale with the Three Figures being a sizeable example at 13.5 inches. The presence of these substantial figures is further reinforced through the immediacy of their positioning. Placed front and centre and commanding the picture plane, they are silhouetted against an unusual and vivid blue background. The use of blue as a solid background is extremely rare in Lowry's oeuvre with only a handful of examples (but no figure groups) ever having appeared at auction. Better known for his signature flake white backgrounds, Lowry reserved a blue background for major single figure compositions such as the seminal Head of a Man (with Red Eyes) 1938 (The Lowry, Salford), A Young Man 1955 (Tate, London) or his powerful self-portrait from 1938 on loan to National Portrait Gallery, London.
Michael Howard has commented that 'his people are individualised in a way that his earlier inhabitants of the urban scene were not. Unlike his industrial figures, they are not set in a specifically urban framework; the world they inhabit is nebulous, uncertain and empty, as mysterious and ambiguous as they are themselves' (Michael Howard, Lowry: A Visionary Artist, Lowry Press, Salford, 2000, p.195). The environment of the present work is merely hinted at by three horizontal bands, two below the children's feet serving to ground them in space, and a further line running behind their legs. No clues are given as to whether their interaction is even inside or outside.
Dating from a time that Lowry described as 'I think that this is my best period. I think I am saying more, going deeper into life than I did' (op. cit., p.201) and available on the open market for the first time, Three Figures presents an important opportunity to acquire one of Lowry's distinctive and rare 'blue paintings'.
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