Lot 37: Laurence Stephen Lowry, R.A. , 1887-1976 Street Corner oil on canvas

signed and dated 1961 oil on canvas

61 by 51cm.; 24 by 20in.

Acquired in the 1970s by the father of the present owner

In the late 1950s Lowry began to produce a number of paintings and drawings which brought a small number of large-scale figures right up in front of the viewer. The usual street background is hugely reduced, as here, becoming just a vestige of the level of detail one might have previously expected, and these groups are frequently centred around a single figure who confronts us directly. The central figure will often display some oddity, either physical or behavioural, and, coupled with the air of isolation they often emit, it has been suggested that such characters may represent a form of self-portrait for the artist. The surrounding figures often appear to either mock or threaten the central figure, yet they themselves are frequently less than normal in appearance. Painted in 1961, Street Corner also demonstrates the increasingly flexible painting technique that Lowry was employing. Having always used a relatively limited range of pigments, the combination of colours and the means of usage and treatment develops further at this time, and on close inspection we can see how the paint is manipulated, scraped back and mixed on the canvas to create a dense texture of colours. It is even possible to discern fingerprints in the paint where the artist has discarded the brush and used his fingers to smooth the colours into each other.