Urban life in town display
OUR Town is an industrial landscape by LS Lowry, owned by our town and on display in Gallery Two at Touchstones in Rochdale as part of the Toil, Trades and Titans exhibition.
Lowry referred to his industrial landscapes as dreamscapes, as they were largely imaginary compositions based on memory and numerous pencil sketches.
His initial drawings were made outdoors, on the spot, often rough sketches on the back of an envelope or whatever scrap of paper was to hand.
More finished drawings were made later and, after about 1910, he only ever painted at home in what he referred to as his workroom.
Lowry depicted the bleakness of urban life in industrial northern towns during 1930 and 1940s with a very limited palette of colours - ivory, black, vermilion, Prussian blue, yellow ochre and flake white. Our Town, typical of his industrial landscapes, is populated by what Brian and Michael, in their 1978 hit song, described as Matchstick Men and Matchstick Cats and Dogs.
On closer examination, amidst the stark realism, touches of humour are revealed. Two figures seem to be skipping along in step with each other as they follow an enormously fat man who appears to think he is leading a marching brass band. This group stands out from the crowds of scurrying matchstick men and a couple of matchstick dogs.