Michael Parkinson & Ian McKellen
Michael Parkinson & Ian McKellen appear in TV ad campaign in support of L S Lowry
Celebrity supporters of Lowry’s work join The Lowry in re-appraising artist.
" … the spectre of popular opinion. Lord, save us from it. If the National Gallery were in the hands of popular opinion it would be filled with the works of
L S Lowry..." - Brian Sewell, Art Critic
Ian McKellen and Michael Parkinson are to star in a new TV campaign in support of L S Lowry next week to promote A City's Pride, the world's largest ever L S Lowry exhibition, currently on display at The Lowry in Salford.
The adverts are the latest salvo by The Lowry to widen the debate about L S Lowry’s position in the history of 20th century art. Many gallery goers think Lowry is 'not for them', based on the opinion of the art establishment. The Lowry aims to convince them that opinion is changing, and they should now make up their own minds by seeing the real thing.
Both Parkinson and McKellen agreed to make the adverts for no fee, as they are both genuine fans of Lowry. Michael Parkinson says of the artist: “I think that L S Lowry is one of the great English painters. His use of colour is extraordinary, never mind his sense of landscape and his sense of perspective. Lowry’s the first artist who brought me into loving art. He’s a truly great artist.”
And Ian McKellen said his of his work "The mark of a great painter is that he makes you see the world afresh and that’s certainly what Lowry does. He looks at people as if on a stage, observing them as we do performers. I’m grateful because I’ve seen the world through his eyes, the eyes of an observer, seeing the loneliness of empty landscapes as well as crowd scenes.”
The Lowry hopes the adverts will challenge many people’s perceptions of Lowry's work as simply 'matchstickmen', crowd scenes and grim 19th century industrial landscapes. Increasingly, the view among art historians and critics is that Lowry’s contribution to 20th century British art has been neglected and overlooked.
Andrew Lambirth, art critic for The Spectator whose book, L S Lowry - Conversation Pieces was published last year, supports this view. He said: "Lowry has been largely ignored by the art establishment because he doesn't readily fit into the categories beloved of art historians. His vast popularity has also gone against him. There is an argument to be made for Lowry the modernist, for giving him rightful due as an original and inventive artist who occupies a key place in 20th century British painting."
And Manchester cultural commentator Anthony Wilson, once one of Lowry's most outspoken critics, has recently admitted he has totally changed his mind: “For 30 years I’d slagged off his paintings as I felt they preserved the image of the north as one of chimneys, slums and flat caps. I then went to see the large exhibition of his work which opened The Lowry on Salford Quays four years ago, and realised I had been wrong all that time. His portraits and sketches, and in particular the fabulous seascapes, were simply wonderful. He's a true modernist and I’m now one of his biggest champions. I blame Brian and Michael with their crap song. My song is 'I’m A Believer'."
The Lowry has already begun to make inroads in changing opinion by placing Lowry’s work next to accepted masters within themed exhibitions, proving he can hold his own. An example is last year's The Impossible View?, recent winner of a Museums and Heritage Award for Excellence, which focused on panoramic paintings. The Independent On Sunday's Charles Darwent said of the exhibition: "It makes you look at Lowry again….as a man open to human impulse; something I'd always felt he lacked, but which I now see was there all the time."
Lindsay Brooks, curator of The Lowry, said of the campaign "Michael Parkinson and Ian McKellen were won over by Lowry’s work many years ago. Any members of the public who still think L S Lowry is not for them should visit A City's Pride exhibition - I'm confident they'll change their mind, as so many others have, and we'll encourage them to spread the word."
Posted on Saturday, 29 May 2004 under Press