New LS Lowry exhibition aims to demolish 'naive and uncultured' myth

A new exhibition of work by LS Lowry will “bust a few myths” about the Mancunian artist, who the show’s co-curator says is still wrongly derided for being “naive and uncultured.” Titled “LS Lowry: the Theatre of Life,” the exhibition opens on 24 October at MK Gallery in Milton Keynes and features 140 paintings.

Anthony Spira, director of MK Gallery, explains that Lowry was far from naive: he spent many years at art college, regularly attended the opera, theatre and cinema, and collected works by artists such as the pre-Raphaelites, Jacob Epstein and Lucian Freud. “He was much more cultured and engaged than he’s given credit for,” Spira says.

Among the highlights is the rarely seen 1932 painting “A Football Match,” which depicts a game between two unknown teams. This will be the first time the painting has been exhibited in nearly 85 years; it was last shown at the Royal Academy a decade after it was painted. Lowry, a Manchester City fan, did paint his favourite team in action in 1938, but it was unusual for him to depict a real-life event. Spira suggests it was likely an amateur game, noting that Lowry’s scenes are more about crowds than sports.

Lowry is often associated with industrial scenes of workers and factories, but Spira warns that focusing only on such works creates a negative caricature. The artist also painted leisure activities – seasides, festivals, people enjoying themselves – classic English social life. His most famous painting, “Going to the Match,” was bought for £7.8m in 2022 by the Lowry arts centre in Salford to keep it from a private collection.

The exhibition coincides with the 50th anniversary of Lowry’s death. He died just months before a major retrospective at the Royal Academy. Earlier this year, the BBC film “LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes,” featuring Ian McKellen lip-syncing Lowry’s words from rediscovered 1972 interviews, offered further insight into the artist’s inner life.