Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887–1976)

British painter L. S. Lowry lived all his life in Salford and the surrounding area. He painted his urban subjects mostly at night. His most popular works are characterised by industrial scenes featuring stylised crowds of stick-like figures, but there’s more to his work. Alongside mill scenes and the industrial north, he created portraits and seascapes in oils, watercolour and pencil.

Lowry took life drawing classes under French artist Adolphe Valette at Manchester Municipal School of Art, and went on to train at the Salford School of Art. His drawings tell a different story to the more well-known paintings, and offer a new insight into a giant of twentieth-century art.

Find out more about Lowry’s life and art.