LOWRY’S OLD HOME ON SALE

Matchstick men painter L.S. Lowry would have raised a wry eyebrow if he’d known his paintings would one day sell for millions, as his famous Station Approach did three years ago.

The canvass fetched £2.3 million at a Sotheby’s auction and depicts crowds walking towards Manchester’s North Western Exchange Station, which has since been demolished. And the Manchester-based Lowry would have been equally amazed to know that his former home in the suburb of Mottram would one day go on sale for £325,000, or approaching twice the average price of a home in the city.

Lawrence Stephen Lowry lived at The Elms from 1939 until his death in 1976 and it’s where several of his well-known and more controversial canvasses were painted. These include a famous painting of a local agricultural fair completed by Lowry the year he moved to The Elms. There he also painted The Cripples, a canvas of a crowd in a park which includes several people using crutches or with missing limbs.

Lowry’s former home is now for sale and, say the couple who are selling it, still features spots of paints in the room where he used to paint. There’s also a Blue Plaque commemorating his time at the property on its façade.

The Elms is a semi-detached house with four bedrooms and has been refurbished by the current owners. It also has two reception rooms, a study as well as a main bathroom and a shower room.

More information from Bridgfords (01614 012 589).