Yachts at Lytham St. Anne's
signed and dated 'LS LOWRY 1951'
oil on panel
21.5 x 34 cm. (8 1/2 x 13 3/8 in.)
Sold for £133,250 inc. premium
May, 2012
PROVENANCE: With The Waddington Galleries, London
Lowry's paintings of pleasure boats at Lytham St. Anne's on the Lancashire coast form an important and well-documented aspect of the artist's oeuvre.
It is well known that his mother favoured these over his darker industrial scenes, attracted, perhaps, to their cheerful palette and the nostalgic memory of holidays
at the coast with her son. These works form an important aspect of the artist's output, from sketches made as early as 1902 to well into the 1970s, as Lowry relished
in the painterly effects of depicting the character of the tranquil waters, dotted with pastel sails.
T.G. Rosenthal writes 'it is not mere speculation to say that the sea, wherever he found it, gave him ample opportunity to work with his beloved,
and so ingeniously exploited, white paint. More than the industrials, and more than his earth-bound landscapes the views of the sea had one overpowering component
which existed on a much smaller - and frequently mostly hidden - aspect, namely an uninterrupted horizon where the preponderant white sky met the edge of the sea.'
Specialist dealers to the trade and retail.
Lowry Prints and Lithographs.
There are approximately 54 signed Lowry prints (signed, limited edition print titles) by and 17 lithographic prints.
Approximately 26 unsigned, Lowry limited edition prints.
Numerous open edition, poster prints of decorative not numbered or personally signed, of decorative value only, were published.
The signed prints usually have an embossed stamp, by the Fine art trade guild, or that of the publisher.
Some print titles are simply signed by the artist and numbered.
Several print titles eg. 'Mill scene' print, 'Level crossing' print, and 'Market scene' print are simply signed in pencil by L.S. Lowry.
But not stamped or numbered, although they are limited edition prints (editions of 750).