Five must see art works in Lowry & The Pre-Raphaelites exhibition

Carmel Thomason

6 years ago

MAN62934 The Proclamation Regarding Weights and Measures, 1889 (tempera on panel) by Brown, Ford Madox (1821-93); 26.2x56.9 cm; Manchester Art Gallery, UK

A new exhibition at The Lowry, Salford Quays, is shining a light on artist LS Lowry’s passion for Pre-Raphaelite art work.

In his younger days Lowry was an admirer of this 19th century group of artists and later became a collector of their work.

The exhibition, Lowry & The Pre-Raphaelites, features works of two of Lowry’s favourite artists, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Ford Madox Brown, as well as works by Edward Burne-Jones and Lowry himself.

From well-known classics to pictures rarely displayed in public, this exhibition, curated by Claire Stewart, includes works formerly owned by LS Lowry alongside some of his favourite pictures held in public and private collections.

Here Claire shares her five ‘must see’ artworks on display:

The Bower Meadow 1872 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Dante Gabriel Rossetti The Bower Meadow 1850-72 © Manchester Art Gallery/Bridgeman Images

The Bower Meadow was one of Lowry’s favourite paintings by the artist he loved most. Lowry famously said that he didn’t like Rossetti’s women at all but they fascinated him, which is why he ‘bought Rossetti’s work whenever he could’. According to one of his friends, Lowry ‘wished endlessly and, of course, hopelessly’ to own this picture.

Wilhelmus Conquistador (The Body of Harold) 1861 by Ford Madox Brown

MAN62927 The Body of Harold Brought Before William the Conqueror, 1844-61 (oil on canvas) by Brown, Ford Madox (1821-93); 105×123.1 cm; Manchester Art Gallery, UK

Ford Madox Brown had lived in the same leafy suburb in Manchester (Victoria Park) where Lowry himself grew up prior to his parents’ move to Pendlebury. The Body of Harold was one of Lowry’s favourite Pre-Raphaelite works and is on loan to The Lowry for this exhibition from Manchester Art Gallery.

The First Madness of Ophelia 1864 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Horatio Discovering the Madness of Ophelia by Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Charles (1828-82); Gallery Oldham, UK

When the famously frugal Lowry retired from his day job as a rent collector, he chose to indulge his fascination for The Pre-Raphaelites by acquiring work by some of its most prominent artists. The First Madness of Ophelia was a picture Lowry knew well in Oldham Art Gallery’s collection and he joked with the curator about the possibility of buying it. (To no avail!)

Studies for Attendant figures for Astarte Syriaca 1879 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Study for the attendant figures for Astarte Syriaca (chalk on paper) by Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Charles (1828-82); 36.4×50.2 cm; Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear, UK; This is one of an important pair of drawings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti portraying Jane Morris, who appears in many Pre-Raphaelite pictures. She was the wife of the artist and writer William Morris. This drawing is a study from one of the two flanking figures in Rossetti’s painting ‘Astarte Syriaca’ (1877). Rossetti gave the drawings to Sunderland Museum to mark its opening of in 1879. He was a friend of the Sunderland cork cutter Thomas Dixon, whose efforts had helped establish Sunderland Museum.

Study for the attendant figures for Astarte Syriaca (chalk on paper) by Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Charles (1828-82); 35.9×50.2 cm; Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Tyne & Wear, UK; This is one of a pair of drawings given by the artist to mark the opening of Sunderland Museum in 1879. Dante Gabriel Rossetti was one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a friend of the Sunderland cork cutter Thomas Dixon, whose efforts had helped establish Sunderland Museum. The drawing shows one of the two figures either side of Venus in Rossetti’s painting ‘Astarte Syriaca’ (1877).

These striking chalk drawings are on loan to The Lowry from Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens. They were made after Rossetti finished his painting Astarte Syriaca in 1877. ‘Astarte’ (an ancient Syrian goddess of love) was Lowry’s all-time favourite work by Rossetti and he made special arrangements to see these drawings in store in Sunderland.

Ann 1956 by LS Lowry

CAL015.Portrait of Ann 1957.MP.1110-003076
© The Estate of L.S. Lowry. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2018

‘Ann’ appears in Lowry’s work many times. Her identity has never been confirmed and it is thought that she is an imagined character, a composite of women that Lowry knew throughout his life. Lowry described Rossetti’s female portraits as ‘dream women’, a description that also fits Ann. Here her pose, head tilted down, is very similar to Jane Morris in ‘Proserpine’ – the only oil painting among all the Rossetti drawings that Lowry owned.

Lowry & The Pre-Raphaelites runs from Saturday 10 November 2018 until Sunday 24 February 2019. See website for details.