It includes a famous artwork that caused Lowry to exclaim: “I only paint what I see you know.”
Three classic L.S. Lowry paintings are heading to auction, including one that depicts a famous, and rare, detail.
Paintings by the Salford artist, renowned for his scenes of northern life with matchstick men and animals, tend to attract feverish interest from collectors whenever they occasionally come to sale.
And so auction house Christie’s are expecting plenty of interest when they put three of Lowry’s works up for auction at its upcoming Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale on 19 March.
The paintings include a famous scene of Middleton, called Old Church and Steps dating back to 1960. It shows the old Methodist church in the town, but it’s another detail in the painting that has made it one of his most famed works.
For look closely at the picture, and at the forefront, along with the matchstick men and women, you will see a dog with FIVE legs.
When this unusual feature was pointed out to the artist during his lifetime, Lowry exclaimed cryptically: “Well I never … and to think I checked it most carefully before I let it go. All I can say is that it must have had five legs. I only paint what I see you know.”
Another of the paintings features a scene of a May Day in 1935, with a group of youngsters dancing around a maypole next to a factory.
The painting was previously in the collection of Jane Archer neé Sissmore – the first ever female officer in Britain’s Security Service, MI5.
Quirky details in the picture include a man in clogs, and a shady figure talking to a child in a top hat.
Here’s more on the three artworks going up for auction this month, including the estimates of how much they are likely to go for under the hammer.
Old Church and Steps, 1960 (estimate: £350,000 – 550,000) Unlike many of Lowry’s urban compositions, the painting depicts a known location in Middleton, an old Methodist Chruch and steps.
The work is famous for being the “picture of the dog with five legs”, which is front and centre of the composition. When this was pointed out to the artist he exclaimed cryptically, ‘well I never … and to think I checked it most carefully before I let it go. All I can say is that it must have had five legs. I only paint what I see you know’.
May Day, 1935 (estimate: £750,000 – 950,000). The painting was previously in the collection of Jane Archer neé Sissmore – the first ever female officer in Britain’s Security Service, MI5 – and comes from an important series of paintings dating back to the 1930s in which the artist presents a scene from everyday urban industrial life.
Old Houses, Wick, 1936 (estimate: £300,000 – 500,000). The work is one of a small number of highly regarded works that Lowry painted in the North of Scotland. Smoking chimneys, such as those seen here, are recurring motifs of Lowry’s celebrated industrial landscapes, while the gathering figures and stray dog are further trademarks of his work. Lowry’s trips to Glasgow are well documented but little is recorded of his travels further north to Wick.
The auction will take place at Christie’s in London on the evening of March 19. From now until then the paintings will be available for the public to view at Christie’s auction house on King Street, London.
