About this artwork
The scene depicted in this painting is based on cityscapes from Runcorn and Widnes, on the river Mersey. Although Lowry's paintings may at first seem naïve, they are rigorously composed and intricately patterned. For example, the two chimneys on the building in the foreground echo the two industrial chimneys behind. The arched roof of the church rhymes wittily with both the lamppost beside it and the domed roof on the horizon. Lowry's famous 'matchstick' people populate the scene, while the narrow range of tones evokes what Lowry called the 'apocalypse of grime.'
Updated before 2020
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artist:L.S. Lowry (1887 - 1976) English
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title:Canal and Factories
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date created:1955
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materials:Oil on canvas
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measurements:61.00 x 76.30 cm; Framed: 79.70 x 95.80 x 5.50 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1975
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accession number:GMA 1349
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gallery:
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subject:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
L.S. Lowry
L.S. Lowry
Lowry was born in Rusholme, Manchester, and lived all his life in or near the city. He studied art at evening classes but made his living as a rent collector and clerk for a firm of accountants. Lowry also had intermittent art school training from 1905 to 1925 and therefore was not a...