‘Dear Mr Bennett
So you have gone to Maryport! I’m very glad……
you have gone to a wonderful place’!
The words of L S Lowry in writing to his friend Geoffrey Bennett on hearing of his appointment to Manager of the Westminster Bank in Maryport.
Many people will have heard of the artist, L S Lowry. Laurence Stephen Lowry, 1887 to 1976, was famous for painting scenes of life in the industrial areas of north west England in the mid-20th century. His distinctive style of painting featured urban landscapes with human figures, often referred to as ‘matchstick men’, which cast no shadows.
In 2021, local Primary Schools undertook a project on Lowry, funded by Maryport Town Council, in which the school children learned of Lowry’s upbringing & development as an artist, reviewing his pictures of Maryport & identifying their sites. They then learned to draw in the style of Lowry & produced their own versions of Lowry’s Maryport pictures.
The children’s pictures have been used to produce a display at sites of importance to Lowry in the town: Christchurch; the Harbour; Market Steps; Shipping Brow; & the former Westminster Bank. They have beautifully captured Lowry’s style in the artwork accompanying this trail. You are invited to enjoy these versions & perhaps be inspired yourselves!