L. S. LOWRY, THREE MEN AND CAT, SIGNED LITHOGRAPH, EDITION OF 850, 1971
Three Men And Cat is a lithograph from 1963 by L. S. Lowry that features an image of three highly stylised figures and a cat, depicted in the artist’s characteristic figurative style. This print is an example of Lowry’s style that focused on small groups of figures and portraits of individuals painted on a plain white ground with little or no architectural landscape setting.
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 the image focuses closely on the figures that usually inhabit Lowry’s larger landscapes, their clothing and faces viewed in more detail.
The artist was insistent on the fact that many of his portraits were based on real people he saw in and around Greater Manchester whilst working as a rent collector. It is unclear whether these three men know each other, as Lowry has shown them standing in three opposing positions, providing the print with an atmosphere of loneliness and isolation. 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.
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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.
