| 1887 |
1st November, Laurence Stephen Lowry born at home, 8 Barrett Street, Manchester. |
| 1893 |
By this time the Lowry family are living at 4 Ellesmere Place, near Stockport Road, Longsight, Manchester. |
| 1895 |
Began attending Victoria Park School, Manchester. |
| 1898 |
Family move to 14 Pine Grove, Longsight. |
| 1903 |
Attended private painting classes with Reginald Barber. |
| 1904 |
Began work as Office Clerk with Thomas Aldred and Son, Chartered Accountants, 88 Mosley Street, Manchester. |
| 1905-6 |
Began attending evening classes in drawing and painting at the Manchester Municipal College of Art, studying under Adolphe Valette. Took post of Claims Clerk with General Accident, Fire and Life Insurance Corporation, 20 Cross Street, Manchester. |
| 1909 |
1st May, moved with his parents to 117 Station Road Pendlebury, Swinton. |
| 1910 |
Began employment as a Rent Collector and Clerk with Pall Mall Property Co Ltd, Manchester. |
| 1915 |
Began attending life classes at the Salford School of Art, where he was taught by Bernard D Taylor. |
| 1918 |
Student member, but elected to exhibit for one year, of the Manchester Academy of Fine Art. |
| 1919 |
A drawing and two paintings exhibited at the Manchester Academy of Fine Art. |
| 1921 |
With two others, exhibited in the offices of an architect, Roland Thomasson, 87 Mosley Street, Manchester. Sold his first picture, a pastel, The Lodging House. |
| 1925 |
Pictures included in the Manchester Society of Modern Painters exhibition at their new headquarters, 33 Blackfriars Street, Manchester. |
| 1926-30 |
Pictures exhibited in Manchester, in Japan and at the Paris Salon d'Automne. |
| 1927-36 |
Each year exhibited with the New English Art Club, then on and off, until 1957. |
| 1930 |
Commissioned to illustrate A Cotswold Book by Harold Timperley, published in 1931 by Jonathan Cape. Took part in exhibition by Six Art Clubs in Manchester. An Accident purchased by the City Art Gallery, Manchester. Exhibited drawings at a one-man exhibition at the Annual Meeting of the University Settlement in the Round House, Every Street. |
| 1931 |
Pictures in Salford Artists exhibition at Salford City Art Gallery. |
| 1932 |
Father died in February. Again exhibited at the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts, and did so annually with very few exceptions until 1972. First exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts. |
| 1933 |
Exhibited with the Royal Society of British Artists. |
| 1933 |
Exhibited with the Royal Society of British Artists. |
| 1934 |
Elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists. |
| 1936 |
Six of his paintings shown in a mixed exhibition at the Arlington Gallery, London. A Street Scene, St. Simon's Church, painted in 1928, purchased by Salford Art Gallery from Manchester Academy exhibition. |
| 1938 |
Chance discovery by AJ McNeill Reid who saw some of Lowry's paintings while visiting the premises of James Bourlet & Sons Ltd, Picture Framers, London. |
| 1939 |
Mother died in October. First one-man exhibition at the Lefevre Gallery. From 1943 one-man exhibitions held at the same gallery at yearly intervals until 1976. |
| 1941 |
One-man exhibition at the Salford City Art Gallery. |
| 1943 |
One-man exhibition at the Bluecoat Chambers, Liverpool. Exhibited at 117A Oxford Road, Manchester with the Manchester Ballet Club from which the Manchester Art Club was formed in 1946. |
| 1945 |
Honorary Degree of Master of Arts conferred by the University of Manchester. |
| 1946 |
Some of the members of the Manchester Art Club, including LS Lowry, formed an inner circle, the Manchester Group, which exhibited at the Mid-day Studios, 96 Mosley Street, and at other addresses until 1956. |
| 1948 |
Lived for a few months at 72 Chorley Road, Swinton. Moved to The Elms, Stalybridge Road, Mottram-in-Longdendale, Cheshire. Elected a member of the London Group. One-man exhibition in October at the Mid-day Studios, Manchester. |
| 1950 |
Exhibited in Painters' Progress at the Whitechapel Art Gallery, London. |
| 1951 |
Retrospective exhibition held at the City Art Gallery, Salford to commemorate the Festival of Britain. Exhibited in British Painting 1925-1950, an Arts Council Touring Exhibition. With Theodore Major exhibition in Two Lancashire Painters. |
| 1952 |
First exhibition at the Crane Gallery, Manchester. This gallery, under the direction of Mr Andras Kalman, was the first commercial gallery outside London to show Lowry's work. Further exhibitions were held there in 1955 and 1958. Now the Crane Kalman Gallery, London, it has shown his work on a number of occasions. Lowry is represented in the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Retired from his post as Chief Cashier at The Pall Mall Property Company, Manchester. |
| 1955 |
Two-man exhibition with Josef Herman at Wakefield City Art Gallery. Elected Associate of the Royal Academy of Arts. |
| 1959 |
Retrospective exhibition at the City Art Gallery, Manchester. Pictures in the British Group exhibition at the Robert Osborne Gallery, New York. |
| 1960 |
Exhibition at the Altrincham Art Gallery and at the Harrogate Festival of Visual Arts. Pictures from the Rev Geoffrey Bennett Collection exhibited at Middlesbrough Art Gallery, and in 1961 at the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne. |
| 1961 |
Received Honorary Degree LL.D., from University of Manchester. Exhibition at Monks Hall Museum, Eccles. Exhibition at Swinton and Pendlebury Public Library. |
| 1962 |
Elected full member of the Royal Academy of Arts. Retrospective exhibition held at the Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield. |
| 1964 |
An exhibition in his honour, A Tribute to LS Lowry, held at the Monks Hall Museum, Eccles. Twenty-five contemporary artists, including Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Duncan Grant and John Piper, sent works as their tributes to mark his 77th birthday. On 1st November The Hallé Orchestra marked his birthday with a special orchestral concert in Manchester. Exhibition at the Stone Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, of paintings from the Monty Bloom Collection. Exhibition at the Swinton & Pendlebury Public Library. Pictures in The Englishness of English Painting exhibition at The Robert Osborne Gallery, New York. |
| 1965 |
Received the Freedom of the City of Salford. Television documentary Mr Lowry produced by Leslie Woodhead for Granada Television. |
| 1966 |
Voted 'Man of the Year' by Manchester Junior Chamber of Commerce. Exhibition at Monks Hall Museum, Eccles of pictures from the Monty Bloom Family Collection. Arts Council Retrospective Exhibition toured Sunderland Art Gallery; the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester; the City Art Gallery, Bristol; finishing at the Tate Gallery, London in January 1967. |
| 1967 |
On 10th July the GPO issued a stamp showing LS Lowry's Coming Out of School, 1927. Exhibited at the Stone Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne. Exhibition at the Magdalene Street Gallery, Cambridge. Exhibition at the Playhouse, Nottingham. Enlarged permanent exhibition at Salford City Art Gallery. |
| 1968 |
Exhibition at Mottram-in-Longdendale. Exhibition entitled The Loneliness of LS Lowry held at the Crane Kalman Gallery, London. |
| 1970 |
Exhibition at the new Swinton Art Gallery. Exhibition, The Drawings of LS Lowry 1923-65 at the Tib Lane Gallery, Manchester. Exhibition at the Norwich Castle Museum of pictures from the Salford City Art Gallery collection. Two pictures included in an Arts Council exhibition, Decade 1920-1930, which toured the country. |
| 1971 |
Exhibition organised by the Northern Ireland Arts Council in Belfast. Exhibition at the Haworth Art Gallery, Accrington. |
| 1972 |
Exhibition at the Turnpike Gallery in the Leigh Public Library. Exhibition at the Hamet Gallery, London |
| 1973 |
Exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Liverpool Trades Council. The Arts Council toured the film LS Lowry: Industrial Artist made by Contemporary Films. |
| 1974 |
Exhibition at Nottingham University Art Gallery. Exhibition of the Ives Collection at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester. |
| 1975 |
Received two Honorary Degrees of D.Lit from the University of Salford and the University of Liverpool. |
| 1976 |
Died on 23rd February, at the age of eighty-eight, at Wood Hospital, Glossop following an attack of pneumonia. |
| 2000 |
Salford City Council's collection of around 350 works by Lowry, moves from Salford Art Gallery to the purpose built galleries at The Lowry. |
