L. S. LOWRY, THE FAMILY, SIGNED LITHOGRAPH, EDITION OF 850, 1970
The Family is a lithograph by L. S. Lowry showing a family of four figures out on a walk, depicted in the artist’s distinctive style. As with many of the artist’s other paintings, this image shows no shadows cast from the figures and along with Lowry’s use of white paint for the ground and sky, this gives the impression that there is no sunlight in this scene.
Instantly recognisable as Lowry, this print is like a snapshot from one of the artist’s very famous, large industrial landscapes. The composition is tightly cropped and there is very little architectural or landscape setting. Thus, the image focuses more closely on the figures that usually inhabit Lowry’s larger landscapes, their clothing and faces viewed in more detail.
Though not explicitly political, Lowry’s work is distinct in the way it shows images of working class people when they are not at work. Highly stylised, these figures appear melancholic, making clear Lowry’s view on the condition of loneliness experienced as a result of modern industrial life in the city. As a rent collector during the day, the artist had a unique insight into the lives of those who lived in and around Greater Manchester and his sympathetic portrayals are indicative of this.
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.
