Laurence Stephen Lowry was born into Victorian Britain in 1887. Throughout his life he painted people and places in his own instantly recognizable style, often recording the daunting industrial landscapes around him. Taught at art school by the French artist Adolphe Valette, Lowry searched for a subject matter he could call his own until one day, after missing a train at Pendlebury station, he saw the Acme Spinning Company's mill turning out: 'I watched this scene ... with rapture', he said, embarking on a lifetime of painting the everyday lives of everyday people in and around Salford. Throughout the 1920s Lowry exhibited widely with various societies, including the New English Art Club and the Society of Modern Painters, as well as in Paris, but few works were sold. His income came largely through his daytime work as a rent collector for the Pall Mall Property Company, which also allowed him to walk the streets, collecting rents and sketching daily life. In 1930 he painted what he described as his most characteristic mill scene, Coming from the Mill, now in The Lowry Collection, Salford, and finally in 1939 he secured his first solo exhibition in London - a huge success. However the outbreak of war and the death of his mother profoundly affected him, and his work took on a darker tone. Ironically, as he was beginning to move away from painting the industrial landscape, he became increasingly well-known and loved. In the 1950s he painted some of his most iconic works, including The Funeral Party, Lake Landscape and The Pond and he started to paint the mysterious 'Ann', probably an imaginary figure, inspired by his love of ballet. Lowry died in 1976, having refused every honour offered to him, including a knighthood. His first major retrospective opened at the Royal Academy a few months after his death, breaking attendance records and in 2013 Tate Britain's own exhibition received over 250,000 visitors.
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