Laurence Stephen Lowry (1^st November 1887 to 23^rd February 1976.)

The painter LS Lowry worked for years in obscurity until he became hugely popular and wealthy in the 1960s and 70s. Not many painters know such zeniths of success while still being vertical and breathing.

As one of his homes was a few miles away in Pendlebury in Greater Manchester I thought I’d go to take a look – especially at the attic window as he worked up there after a day of rent-collecting. He lived here for forty years, thirty of them with his mum until her death. Many hundreds of paintings were completed here.

The road was busy even on a Sunday afternoon and it took a few attempts to get photos without cars passing by in a blur. It’s quite a large house so I’m not sure why two people would want to rattle around in it. The council was planning to buy the place when it was for sale a few years ago but they didn’t have any spare money. A father-of-seven bought it in 2014 for £150,000 and has spent £50,000 on it. It’s currently in an average state of repair. The front door doesn’t look like it’s changed for decades. I touched the letterbox and door knob and had a stroll up the back of the place where some cars were parked.

I had a good look at the attic windows at the front and rear and imagined Lowry daubing paint on wood boards while dressed in a suit. Nowadays a 12” x 18” painting he did up there sell for about £50,000 to £60,000. Blimey.

There’d been a heritage plaque on the wall outside on the wall but it’s been stolen.

Not sure if the attic window is the one at the front…

…or the back…