Laurence Stephen Lowry, R.A. (1887-1976)

The present work depicts a street in Maryport, Cumbria which has since been demolished. What is most striking about this work is Lowry's masterful reduction of the composition to the barest essentials. In the bold classical composition and his assured use of the pencil, Lowry demonstrates his expertise as a fine draughtsman. The sheet appears at once overwhelmingly empty and simultaneously full of emotion. The viewer is drawn into the work and captivated by the carefully delineated houses that line this empty street. The eye comes to rest on the lampost at the end of the street, which appears to be emblematic of the individualism and loneliness of existence that Lowry so clearly felt. The sheet and street are simultaneously and equivalently empty. Lowry has emptied out of the composition all superfluous elements yet the drawing overflows with resurgent emotion. The paraphernalia of external life is supplanted by a pure, iconic vision.