L. S. LOWRY, STREET FULL OF PEOPLE, SIGNED LITHOGRAPH, EDITION OF 75, 1966
Drawn in a larger landscape format than any of the artist’s other lithographs, Street Full Of People by L. S. Lowry is a print from 1966 that shows a simple scene of figures in front of some terraced houses. The scene is drawn from a slightly elevated view, though the figures in the foreground remain the central focus of the scene.
Until the final years of his life Lowry continued to draw obsessively, producing over 8,000 works, many like this one that were made on location as a means to capture the nuances of his everyday life. It is clear that Street Full Of People was produced quickly from life by Lowry, due to the print’s loose lines and simplistic shapes used to give the impression of a bustling residential street. Lowry saw drawing as a medium in its own right, not just as an important step in producing paintings.
There is much speculation surrounding whether Lowry’s portrayal of the working classes was sympathetic or whether his figures appear as grotesque caricatures. As an early drawing, Street Full Of People seems to represent a more sympathetic view of the people Lowry was so interested in depicting. Though the figures are highly stylised, Lowry takes care to take his subjects seriously whilst showing them in a light-hearted context.
Discover more L.S. Lowry artworks.
ABOUT L. S. LOWRY
L.S. Lowry is a much-loved British painter known for pictures that capture urban life in industrial north west England, most notably during the 1920s. Born in 1887 in Stretford, Lancashire, Laurence Stephen Lowry later moved to Pendlebury near Manchester where he lived and worked for over 40 years. The area, which he at first detested, was covered in factories and cotton mills that Lowry would soon obsessively depict. His fascination with the industrial landscapes and the people that inhabited them was inspired by a missed train. Standing on the platform at Pendlebury station, Lowry would later write of the view of the Acme Spinning Company’s mill, saying “I watched this scene – which I’d look at many times without seeing – with rapture.” Learn more about L. S. Lowry.
