Beach with Yachts

Lowry here provides a wide-angled vista where sea, sky, headland and people appear to merge through the use of colour and brushstrokes. The sea dominates the canvas, occupying both the lower and upper areas so that it encompasses the land and the human element within the painting, and is thus the dominating force. Unlike other of his populated seascapes, Lowry's indistinct treatment of the figures here creates an eerie feel to the painting. What is striking in this eerie relationship is that the human element (both the figures on the shore and the view from the land), is subjugated to the enveloping presence and power of the sea.

Lowry's generalised settings for the activities of the seafront could suggest any of the seaside resorts that appeared in the late 19th Century. Lowry was one of many who regularly escaped the northern cities for the pleasures of the resorts, and the leisure industry they afforded is echoed in his work. For Lowry the sea provided both memories of childhood holidays, but also an activity he fundamentally enjoyed, saying once: 'some people like to go to the theatre, some like to watch television, I just like watching ships' (M. Howard, Lowry: A Visionary Artist, Salford, 2000, p. 234). For him, then, the sea afforded a degree of contemplation, of expectation and of his own personalised vision.