LOWRY, LAURENCE STEPHEN

born Nov. 1, 1887, Manchester, Eng. died Feb. 23, 1976, Glossop, Derbyshire English painter noted for industrial landscapes that express the bleakness and loneliness of modern urban life. Lowry studied intermittently at art schools in Manchester and Salford from 1905 to 1925, and he rose from rent collector to become chief cashier at a Manchester real estate company in his long employment there from 1910 to 1952. In 1915 he became interested in depicting the industrial landscapes of Salford, Manchester, and other locations in the East Midlands. Over the next 20 years he developed a unique subject matter of urban landscapes, with a background of chimneys and other industrial structures before which crowds of drably dressed figures move in a state of curious isolation. The colour in his paintings is similarly drab but can create powerful and subtle tonal relationships. The naive elements in his style are belied by strong compositions and skillful drawing. Lowry received little public recognition until 1939, when he had his first one-man show in London. Critical opinion remains divided over his actual stature, but the originality of his artistic vision is generally accepted.