'Socially distanced' Lowry work goes on show as part of St Andrews exhibition

It is one of only a handful of paintings by the revered 20th century artist, LS Lowry, held in Scottish collections.

An Old Street by LS Lowry is among the highlights of of the virtual Art-tastic exhibition. Picture: Angus Blackburn

Now, a work by the celebrated painter, which once belonged to Kirkcaldy linen manufacturer - and grandfather of the former Tory MP, Michael Portillo - has gone on display as part of a virtual exhibition.

The curator of the online show, hosted by St Andrews Museum, said the work was atypical of Lowry’s style, and “very contemporary” during the pandemic, given his trademark matchstick-style figures are spaced apart from one another.

Portillo said that art was his grandfather’s “passion,” and recalled visiting his Fife home, which was full of “heavy gilded frames.”

The painting, An Old Street, is among Lowry’s early works. Completed in 1937, it features the kind of streetscape for which he became famous, but unusually, it is painted from a vertical perspective.

Lesley Lettice, curator of the virtual Art-tastic exhibition, said that and the sparseness of the scene made it stand out.

“Lowry’s industrial landscapes are often filled by people in close contact with one another, be it at sports events, in chip shop queues or heading home after a hard day's work,” she explained.

Programme Name: Great Continental Railway Journeys S7 - TX: n/a - Episode: n/a (No. 5) - Picture Shows: by Charles Bridge, Prague Michael Portillo - (C) Boundless, part of FremantleMedia UK - Photographer: Production

“An Old Street, by contrast, has only 11 figures, who - apart from what looks like two parents with their children - appear reluctant to get too close. It all seems very contemporary.”

The painting, one of only seven works by Lowry to be held in Scottish public collections, and which has only been displayed infrequently in recent years, once belonged to John Blyth, a prominent industrialist who amassed a vast art collection thanks to the wealth he accrued via his linoleum business.

Blyth went on to become the convenor of Kirkcaldy Galleries, a post he held until his death in 1962, after which the bulk of his wide-ranging collection was bought by the then Kirkcaldy Town Council.

Portillo, who has embarked on a successful broadcasting career after his time in government, said his maternal grandfather had an eclectic taste in art, with his collection including not just Lowry works, but those by acclaimed Scottish Colourists such as Samuel Peploe, John Duncan Fergusson, and Francis Cadell, as well as Eugène Boudin, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, and Edward Atkinson Hornel.

Portillo said he could still remember visits to his grandparents in Fife, where vast canvases by esteemed artists hung on the staircase of their home.

“As a child, I had a terror of passing beneath them on my way to bed, in case one fell and crushed me,” he said. “He collected hundreds of paintings, many more than could fit into Wilby House.”

Other works on show as part of the Art-tastic exhibition include paintings by the eminent 20th century artist Sir William MacTaggart and the leading arts and crafts painter, John Duncan, as well as paintings of local scenes, such as Kilconquhar loch, Crail harbour, and the Isle of May.

Those logging on to view the artworks are being asked to create stories and verse inspired by the paintings. For more details about the exhibition, visit bit.ly/2LALMr7

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