Laurence Stephen Lowry, R.A. (1887-1976)
Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's… Read more Property from the Estate of the late Dr Vera Dalley Lederman
Laurence Stephen Lowry, R.A. (1887-1976)

The Lodging House

Details
Laurence Stephen Lowry, R.A. (1887-1976)
The Lodging House
signed and dated 'LS LOWRY 1928' (lower right)
pencil
14½ x 11¼ in. (36.9 x 28.6 cm.)
Provenance
with Lefevre Gallery, London, where purchased by the present owner.
Special Notice
Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.

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André Zlattinger
André Zlattinger

Lot Essay

Lowry was attracted to the hustle and bustle of everyday city life, as demonstrated in this 1928 drawing, The Lodging House. Gathered in front of 'Walton House' and 'Hulme House', the men stand in varied poses with their hands behind their backs, thrust into their pockets or folded in front of them, and there is a tangible sense that they are passing the time while waiting to enter the lodging houses. This otherwise cheerless and banal scene appealed to Lowry, who finds intrigue and even humour in the central figure, who is seen marching energetically down the street, walking stick in hand.

In 1938 Lowry returned to this theme in another pencil drawing called Outside the Lodging House (City of Manchester Art Galleries), in which figures gather outside a lodging house to watch a fight taking place, with one man pulling another man's top hat down over his face. This drawing is very similar to the oil painting A Fight, 1935 (The Lowry, Salford), about which Andras Kalman wrote, 'The notice in the window says 'Beds 4d and 6d per Night', so you can gather what kind of an area it is. An argument outside a cheap lodging house, where they probably sleep three a room. "Where there's a quarrel there's always a crowd", said Lowry. "It's a great draw. A quarrel or a body"' (A. Kalman in conversation with A. Lambirth, LS Lowry Conversation Pieces, London, 2003, p. 63).

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