Laurence Stephen Lowry better known as L.S. Lowry was unquestionably one of the most celebrated and well-respected British artists of the 20th century, depicting industrial scenes that have defined a generation. Born in 1887 in Stretford, Lancashire, Lowry’s childhood was not a happy experience, living within a controlled and repressive family atmosphere.

Lowry, who would be known as Laurence Stephen or more famously L.S. Lowry throughout his life, was to find his artistic inspiration when his family moved to the industrial town of Pendlebury. Having initially resented the landscape around him, he began to appreciate, then fall in love with the textile mills and factory chimneys bellowing smoke into the air, becoming the source of many of his famous depictions of the culture and landscape of the industrial northern heartlands.

Laurence Stephen Lowry would thus start an artistic journey that would begin with art classes at the Manchester School of Art, under the tutelage of inspirational French impressionist Adolphe Valette and would end when one of his paintings: “Piccadilly Circus” sold for a world record £5.6 million.

Lowry’s distinctive and comprehensive record of the pre and post World War Two industrial North had inspired, defined and shaped the very essence of British artistic culture; recognised by artists and collectors alike, as one of ‘the’ most important contributors to the British art scene, with a  legacy that still lives on today.

Clark Art Gallery in Hale, Cheshire have a number of L.S Lowry paintings and drawings for sale. Call 0161 929 5150 or 07973 755 680. www.clark-art.co.uk