England Guide
The Northwest
The Lowry
Opening time: The Galleries: Sun– Fri 11am–5pm, Sat 10am–5pm
Price: The Galleries: free
Address: Salford Quays (Metrolink tram to Harbour City)
Telephone: 0870/787 5780
Website: www.thelowry.com
Perched on the water's edge, The Lowry is the quays' shiny steel arts centre, where you seem to be able to do just about anything, from going to the theatre to getting married. A small part of The Lowry, the Galleries, is devoted to displays of fine art. There are some sixteen different exhibitions held here each year, but most of them showcase a selection of Lowry paintings, quite rightly given that no artist is more closely associated with Salford. The earlier paintings of Lawrence Stephen Lowry (1887–1976) have a sense of desolation and melancholia in their portrayal of Manchester mill workers, but later he modified his outlook, repeating earlier paintings but changing the greys and sullen browns for lively reds and pinks. Lowry also expanded his repertoire as he grew older, capturing mountain scenes and seascapes in broad sweeps of his brush, and painting full-bodied realistic portraits that are far less known than his internationally famous matchstick crowds. A twenty-minute film – "Meet Mr Lowry" – puts further flesh on the artistic bones.