L.S. Lowry: The Theatre of Life

A beautifully illustrated record of L.S. Lowry's work that goes beyond his industrial landscapes and explores the full breadth of his practice to mark 50 years since the British artist's death.

Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887-1976) is one of Britain's best-known artists. While his work remains hugely popular, this catalogue looks beyond the iconic industrial landscapes that made him famous, revealing the full breadth of his practice. It explores scenes of fairgrounds, processions, gatherings, beaches and sports fields that capture the rhythms of everyday British life.

Published to accompany MK Gallery's exhibition marking the fiftieth anniversary of the artist's death, L.S. Lowry: The Theatre of Life highlights Lowry's keen social observations and the rich emotional range, including empathy, melancholy and humour, that defines his work.

Born on the outskirts of Manchester, Lowry developed an instantly recognizable style, famously restricting himself to just five undiluted oil colours: ivory black, vermilion, Prussian blue, yellow ochre and flake white. From around 1915 he painted on a white ground, allowing dark, shadowless forms to stand out against luminous surfaces.

A complex figure, Lowry kept his life and art separate, fostering myths that still surround him: that he was a loner, self-taught and disconnected from art history and the wider cultural world. His career unfolded during a period of profound social change in Britain, as the workers, mills,
terraced housing and urban landscapes he painted were bombed, cleared and transformed. These themes are explored throughout this book in more than 140 works, including less familiar early academic drawings, studies in pastel and watercolour, seascapes, portraits and surreal compositions, as well as the crowded industrial scenes for which he has long been admired.