L.S. LOWRY, R.A. (BRITISH, 1887-1976)
Rhyl Harbour
signed with initials and dated 'LSL 1924' (lower right) and inscribed 'Rhyl' (lower left)
pencil
25.2 x 35. cm. (10 x 13 5/8 in.)

Provenance
Private Collection, U.K
Their sale; Adam Partridge, Cheshire, 23 Oct 2020, lot 421
With Clark Art Ltd., Cheshire, 2020, where purchased by the present owner

Lowry visited Rhyl and Lytham St Anne’s on numerous occasions on family holidays. It was on these trips he began a lifelong fascination with open water, the sea and maritime subjects. This fascination sometimes bordered on the morbid.

“I often think… what if it suddenly changed it’s mind and didn’t turn the tide? And came straight in? If it didn’t stop and came on and on and on and on and on… That would be the end of it all.” - L.S. Lowry

Established over 700 years ago, the Rhyl harbour was originally designed as an integral component of a deep-water channel to provide resources for Edward I’s castle at Rhuddlan. When the present lot was executed in 1924, Rhyl harbour was a calm, serene setting but this would later make way for a bustling, seaside tourism in the post-war period. Whilst the focus of the current work is the serene harbour, with the boats calmly nestled into the dock, we can see the start of Lowry’s famous matchstick men in the distance. They not only provide perspective and depth in the composition but also a wonderful insight into the process and formation of this iconic motif.