LOWRY, LAURENCE STEPHEN     1887 –  1976                    Back                

L.S Lowry was born on 1 November 1887 in Barret Street,  Stretford.  He first attended Victoria Park School. He also went to Bennett Street Sunday School where his Mother was a organist there.  When he was eleven, the family moved to Pine Grove, Longsight.  He said ‘I didn’t like being a child; I was not interested in my school days; it was not a nice time at all.’ 

In 1903, Lowry began work as a claims clerk at Manchester Insurance Company.  In 1919 he had taken up the post of rent collector for Pall Mall Property Company Ltd, where he remained until his retirement in 1952.  He also said ‘I’ll always be grateful to rent collection, I’ve put many of the tenants in my pictures.’ 

In 1909 the Lowry family moved from Victoria Park to 117 Station Road, Pendlebury.  Lowry’s father died in 1932.  His mother whom he was extremely close to died in 1939, and in 1948 Lowry moved to Chorley Road, Swinton, but only lived there for a few months.  He then moved on again, this time out of the area to the Elms, Stalybridge Road, Mottram in Longdendale.  When he lived in Mottram he spent a lot of his time in the north east, where he had easy access to the sea and the harbours.

His artistic training was limited to evening classes at the Municipal College of Art in Manchester 1905-1925 under the French painter Adolphe Velette, and he attended the Salford School of Art.

 Although he exhibited in Manchester, London and Paris before World War 11, after the War he became well known.  He also became the subject of a television programme 1957.  Lowry’s highly individual style had little influence on other artists.  His work fascinated a wider public and became very valuable. 

He also inspired a successful popular song after his death on 23 February 1976.  L.S Lowry died at Woods Hospital, Glossop and he was buried at Southern Cemetery, Manchester.