A recent newspaper article illustrates the amazing increase in prices of work by L.S.Lowry. The example below is just one of many recent examples, and we see similar increases of his signed, limited edition prints.
Lowry's industrial landscapes with figures are always known as his forte, and of course command the premium prices. The oil painting titled 'Going to the match was bought six years ago by the Professional Footballers Asociation for almost two million pounds, and it is thought that should it be sold again in today's market a price of six million would not be unreasonable.
'Daisy Nook Fair' broke all records for the sale of work by modern British artists. An article newspaper article quotes "an iconic painting by world-famous Salford artist LS Lowry sold for nearly £3.8 million - becoming the most expensive work by the artist ever."
The 1946 painting 'Good Friday, Daisy Nook', shows a fair at the country park. This painting was part of a collection of five Lowrys sold by a private collector, who had bought it in 1970 for a record £16,800 at the time. The painting is of Daisy Nook in Lancashire in 1946,during a holiday. In 1970 the work was sold for £16,800, a record price for the artist at the time.
Factories, Lancashire, painted in 1947, is a more characteristic of Lowry's work. The industrial townscape, complete with several mills and smoking chimneys, is shown from an aerial view, looking down on the crowds in an objective manner and shows many figures going about their daily business. The painting of a Northern industrial townscape was recently sold for £1,128,800.
Beach and Promenade, painted in 1948, was bought for £546,400. This shows the figures during their recreational activities,and is painted at such an angle to give the impression of a 'bird's eye view.
Many of Lowry's holidays during his childhood were by the sea, he would visit Lytham St. Anne's around April and Rhyl, on the North-West coast, during the summer months. The Mansion, Pendlebury, painted in 1944, was recently sold for £344,800. This was the town in which Lowry had spent many years. The move to Pendlebury in 1909 happened for the family when L.S. Lowry was 22 years old, and he stayed there for nearly 40 years.
The painting of a mansion house illustrates the artist's curiosity with solitude as the isolated building dominates the canvas. A crowd huddling around the front door of the house is clearly visible. Lowry often used to say that where there was trouble , a crowd would usually congregate. Whitehaven , was painted in 1954, and was recently sold for £180,000. It shows a different seaside landscape.
Lowry painted figures isolated in indusrial landscapes. Several people and an animal, standing by the shore, are held by a wall to one side and the sea the other, with the foreboding presence of the large mills that so dominated the area.
'The Thames from Whitehall Court' (22"x26" oil on canvas) by L.S.Lowry, recently sold for £520,000 Although less sought after than his views of the northern industrial heartland, this work made a sizeable return for the vendor whose husband had purchased it in 1987 for £22,000. A ten-fold real-terms increase over the 22year period suggests That Lowry has easily out performed both the FTSE 100 and the property market.
Author Resource:
David Tatham is an art dealer specialising in original paintings and signed limited edition prints by known British artists, L.S. Lowry. The largest collection of his work in the UK can be viewed and purchased from http://www.lowry.co.uk
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