
Penny Day
Head of UK and Ireland
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Sold for £74,500 inc. premium
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PROVENANCE:
Gifted from Laurence S. Lowry to Mrs. Prudence Kunzel
Thence by family descent
Private Collection, U.K.
EXHIBITED:
London, Royal Academy of Arts, L.S. Lowry R.A., 1887-1976, 4 September-14 November 1976, cat.no.227
It is particularly fitting to be offering this highly accomplished drawing of Clitheroe alongside two significant later oils of the same Lancashire town. Executed in 1955, the present work closely relates to the 1957 painting Street in Clitheroe, offered for sale in 1970 from the collection of Robert Morse, New York. Whilst both images depict the same location and bear distinct similarities, there are also clear differences. In both examples, Lowry retains the basic structure of the street yet adapts the figures and figure groups to suit his composition and mood as an incessant observer of everyday life. Furthermore, despite being a known location, Lowry has no qualms in varying the buildings in each portrayal choosing to include the ever familiar factory chimneys in the oil painting with the drawing retaining a more rural aura.
The quality of drawings that have recently appeared on the open market and the prices achieved for these works can leave little doubt that Lowry was a master draughtsman. Earlier this year, Bonhams secured the two highest prices at auction for pencil drawings by the artist with Agecroft Regatta and The Organ Grinder achieving £211,250 and £151,250 respectively.
Please note that this work is dated 1956 and not 1955 as stated in the printed catalogue.