In pictures: LS Lowry's legacy
- Published
LS Lowry is being celebrated with his first major London exhibition since 1976. Despite being neglected by parts of the art establishment, many artists have felt his influence over the years. Simeon Stafford, who painted The Docks, Manchester, says: "My first influence were the Italian Masters, but after a time it become clear to me that their art had nothing to do with my life. When I discovered the works of LS Lowry, Alan Lowndes and William Turner, everything changed for me, especially the white backgrounds that lifted the figures and buildings off the canvas."
An exhibition titled Lowry and his Legacy is at the Clark Art Gallery in Hale, Cheshire, with such works as Man and Sun by Lowry's contemporary Theodore Major.
Mancunian artist Ben Kelly painted Bag Snatchers, Spinningfields. Lowry depicted the "odd occurrences in the fabric of everyday life", Kelly says. "He documented the industrial landscape of the north and its effect on people. I paint the region in a new millennium - a city of glass. The people remain the same, though."
Phil George depicted a Newcastle street in The Best Record Shop in Town, Waiting for the Only Ones. The artist says: "I am particularly inspired by Lowry's sense of scale with dominant grimy buildings contrasting with tiny animated people complete with personalities communicated through a few expressive brushstrokes."
"As a young painter I looked elsewhere for inspiration," says Liam Spencer, who painted Oxford Road, Manchester. "The long shadow cast by Lowry seemed unhelpful, encouraging stereotypes of the north I was keen to escape. I've learned to appreciate him more over time and there's no doubt that I owe him a debt."
An arts centre in Salford was named after Lowry in 2000. The building was painted by Stephen Campbell, who says: "His use of symmetry and balance have influenced me most. There is a formal, almost religious elegance to his paintings, which is an unpopular amongst art teachers and critics."
- Published24 June 2013
- Published24 June 2013
- Published24 June 2013
- Published24 June 2013
- Published1 June 2013