L S Lowry

L S LOWRY d1976. English artist born in Lancashire. Many of the estimated 8000 drawings and 1000 paintings done during his lifetime, depict nearby Salford and the surrounding areas (including Pendlebury) where he lived and worked for over 40 years. He is most famous for painting scenes of life in the industrial districts of North West England in the mid-20th century. He had a distinctive style of painting and is best known for urban landscapes peopled with human figures often referred to as "matchstick men". He also painted mysterious unpopulated landscapes, brooding portraits and the unpublished "marionette" works which were only found after his death. A secretive and mischievous man who enjoyed humorous anecdotes, but as his celebrity increased during the late 1950s, he grew increasingly resentful of being approached by strangers. He rejected various honours during his lifetime including a knighthood in 1968. He died of pneumonia in Glossop Derbyshire on 23rd February 1976 aged 88. He left an estate valued at £298,459 and a considerable number of artworks by himself and others to Carol Ann Lowry. He also left a cultural legacy, his works often selling for millions of pounds and inspiring other artists. The Lowry in Salford Quays was opened in 2000 at a cost of £106 million ; housing 55 of his paintings and 278 drawings – the world's largest collection of his work – with up to 100 on display. In January 2005, a statue of him was unveiled in Mottram in Longdendale, just 100 yards away from the home where he lived between 1948 and his death in 1976. Sadly the statue has become a target for vandals since it was unveiled