The Mill, Lunchtime; a Cricket Match

Lowry's love of cricket is less well known than his love of football, a game which he often recorded in his work. Far fewer examples depict the game of cricket, although two rare oil paintings do exist: A Cricket Match (1952; sold in these Rooms, 6 June 2008, lot 135, private collection) and A Cricket Match and A Cricket Sight-board (1964-69; sold in these Rooms, 19 November 2004, lot 124; private collection). In both examples, Lowry's friend, the collector Alick Leggat, Honorary Treasurer of the Lancashire County Cricket Club, and passionate cricket supporter, was drafted in to advise on the position of the players.

In the present drawing, the game depicted is more informal. Conducted outside the mill gates at lunchtime, a friendly game of street cricket between workmates animates a classic depiction of the factories and churches of Lowry's most typical urban landscapes. A frieze of onlookers, barely able to keep their eyes on the game, argue and jostle each other in the foreground, and another group in the far distance appear to be laying bets on the outcome. The sense of excitement and boisterousness displayed in the body language of the figures, who variously point and gesture, spills over into a fist fight on the far right of the composition. The dramatic action stimulated by this game is contrasted with the stillness of the mill, which looms large over these figures, and stands as a constant reminder of the daily grind of the existence of the working man.