Collection: L.S. Lowry

Lawrence Stephen Lowry, best known for his industrial landscapes and mill scenes, explored a variety of subjects including portraits, landscapes, and surreal imagery. He studied at the Municipal College of Art and Salford School of Art while working as a rent collector. His early outdoor sketches, often on scraps of paper, were followed by more refined drawings. From around 1910, he painted exclusively at home in his "workroom" using a limited palette of five colors: white, black, vermilion, Prussian blue, and yellow ochre. After years of exhibiting in Manchester and Salford, he gained national fame with a 1939 London solo show. Lowry died in 1976, shortly before a retrospective at the Royal Academy.