Laurence Stephen Lowry, R.A.

Miss E.M. Warburton
Alexander Gallery, Bristol, whence purchased by the present owner in the mid 1970s

Sheffield, Graves Art Gallery, Works of L.S. Lowry A.R.A., 15th September - 14th October 1962.

The work is on a thin piece of card which has not been laid down. The edges of the card have been taped to the mount. The card is slightly light stained. The paint surface is in good overall condition. Held behind glass and within a cream mount in a gilded simple rectilinear frame. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 5381 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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Although he professed to not liking watercolour as a medium, claiming that it dried too quickly and was hard to rework, Lowry nevertheless used it from time to time and by the 1950s he seems to have found that it could be made to work so long as he used it within what were for him its limitations. Therefore we find that during that decade he produced a small number of watercolours which use the forced spontaneity of the medium to reduce the figures, as here, to a level of almost abstracted simplicity. Therefore Lowry is able to extract from the medium the essence of his figures with the absolute minimum of extraneous detail. For instance, the figure on the right of the present composition is formed from three basic brushstrokes, to which he adds simple dashes of paint for shoes, head and hat, yet the overall pose and movement is just as expressive as his more worked studies in either pencil or oil.