Laurence Stephen Lowry R.A.

(British, 1887-1976)

Outside the mill 27.5 x 22.9 cm. (10 7/8 x 9 in.)

Footnotes

Provenance
With Henry Donn, Manchester, circa 1976, where acquired by
Dr. Jack Silver
Thence by family descent

Fully realised watercolours by Lowry seldom appear on the open market, even less so those depicting what we have come to regard as the archetypal Lowry scene; figures scurrying about their daily business in the lower half of a composition, some with dogs and walking canes, in front of a backdrop of terraced houses and factories and mills with their smoking chimneys, such as we are presented with in Outside the mill (1950). Many of the people lean forward earnestly in a pose we have become accustomed to with Lowry's figures, and they stand out in bold colours of red and blue, typical of the artist, highlighted here and there with tiny dashes of red oil paint around some of their necks. These, contrast with the softer washy tones in pink and ochre of the industrial setting to create a fabulous overall image we associate with the most successful of Lowry's work.

It is believed the artist painted approximately only a dozen complete watercolours and the great Lowry commentator Mervyn Levy remarked:

'Lowry has used watercolour only occasionally. He had no great relish for the medium, although he can extract from its fleeting potential a deftness of touch and a shimmering translucency of colour which lends itself especially to beach scenes and seascapes.' (Mervyn Levy, The Paintings of L.S. Lowry, Oils and Watercolours, London 1975, p.25)

Yet viewing Outside the mill we gain an understanding of how Lowry used the medium to bring alive his most cherished subject. He only began to undertake watercolours during the 1950s, and other rare examples of figures in an industrial environment are held in The Lowry Museum at Salford Quays, such as Going to Work and Group of Figures both from 1959. Bearing this in mind it can be assumed Outside the mill, dated 1950 lower left, is among his earliest forays into this short-lived but informative aspect of his oeuvre.