Laurence Stephen Lowry RBA, RA (1887-1976) 

Yachts at Lytham St Annes

Signed and dated 1951, oil on panel, 21.5cm by 34cm

 

Provenance: 

The Lefevre Gallery, London 

The Waddington Galleries, London 

Bonhams London, 20th Century British and Irish Art, 30 May 2012, lot 19

Private Collection, UK

 

Artist's Resale Rights/Droit de Suite may apply to this lot

 

Yachts at Lytham St Anne's  is a fine example from the series of pictures Lowry painted in Lytham over a thirty year period, beginning in the 1930's and lasting well into the 1950's.

Lowry began visiting Lytham and making drawings as early as 1915. In stark contrast to Blackpool its noisy neighbour five miles down the coast, Lytham exudes a peaceful Edwardian, uncommercial elegance and its proximity to the sea, plethora of sailing clubs and unobstructed varied views looking out from the harbour, provided Lowry with endless source material. Yachts and the sea are a constant theme throughout the series, as is the fact that they all look optimistically outwards. This particular work is delightfully complex and has significantly more boats than we normally see. Our eye is drawn out across the bay to where the sky meets the sea and Lowry's use of white, adds scale, light and distance to the view.  In the absence of figures, Lowry's gift of adding movement to his paintings, is transferred here to the Yachts as they appear to us to scud about across the bay, producing an active, yet calm and peaceful composition.

We are grateful to Jonathan Horwich for his assistance with compiling this catalogue entry