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| LS Lowry exhibition in Salford reveals artist's dark side | LS Lowry exhibition in Salford reveals artist's dark side |
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| He is often thought of as a simple man and a straightforward painter but a new show of unseen works by LS Lowry reveals a far more complex character, one prone to depression and loneliness and darker sexual urges that some viewers may feel fit oddly with his much-loved image. | He is often thought of as a simple man and a straightforward painter but a new show of unseen works by LS Lowry reveals a far more complex character, one prone to depression and loneliness and darker sexual urges that some viewers may feel fit oddly with his much-loved image. |
| As Tate Britain prepares to open a major – and in the view of many, long overdue – exhibition appraising his work, the arts centre which bears his name in Salford is putting more than 120 works that have never been seen in public on display. | As Tate Britain prepares to open a major – and in the view of many, long overdue – exhibition appraising his work, the arts centre which bears his name in Salford is putting more than 120 works that have never been seen in public on display. |
| A series of sexualised mannequin drawings are the most surprising among the works. Lowry was no lothario. In fact there is no record of him ever having a relationship with women or men beyond friendship. "He talked about everything in his life, but he never talked about that," said Michael Simpson, the Lowry's head of galleries. | A series of sexualised mannequin drawings are the most surprising among the works. Lowry was no lothario. In fact there is no record of him ever having a relationship with women or men beyond friendship. "He talked about everything in his life, but he never talked about that," said Michael Simpson, the Lowry's head of galleries. |
| Which might lead you to think he was asexual, until you see the drawings from the last years of his life of young girl dolls with short skirts, tight waists and exposed breasts. The drawings are definitely leery and sometimes have a vaguely sado-masochistic edge to them, with one girl being punished in stocks. | Which might lead you to think he was asexual, until you see the drawings from the last years of his life of young girl dolls with short skirts, tight waists and exposed breasts. The drawings are definitely leery and sometimes have a vaguely sado-masochistic edge to them, with one girl being punished in stocks. |
| "They get more and more about discipline and control," said Simpson. "I can't believe they were ever meant for public exhibition, but at the same time when he died he must have known they'd be uncovered and people would look at them. | "They get more and more about discipline and control," said Simpson. "I can't believe they were ever meant for public exhibition, but at the same time when he died he must have known they'd be uncovered and people would look at them. |
| "Lowry always described himself as a simple man but you see things like this and of course he's not. He's as complex as the rest of us. These are works that to some degree shock people, some degree upset people and to another degree seem like just the ramblings of an old man." | "Lowry always described himself as a simple man but you see things like this and of course he's not. He's as complex as the rest of us. These are works that to some degree shock people, some degree upset people and to another degree seem like just the ramblings of an old man." |
| That last theory is arguably convincing when you factor in that Lowry was born in 1887, the end of the Victorian age. For someone of his generation, "the 1970s must have been a fairly extraordinary period to be living through", Simpson said. | That last theory is arguably convincing when you factor in that Lowry was born in 1887, the end of the Victorian age. For someone of his generation, "the 1970s must have been a fairly extraordinary period to be living through", Simpson said. |
| The works could also reflect the fact that his favourite ballet, which he saw many times, was Coppelia, the story of a mad dollmaker who brings life to his doll. | The works could also reflect the fact that his favourite ballet, which he saw many times, was Coppelia, the story of a mad dollmaker who brings life to his doll. |
| Visitors will come to their own conclusions, the gallery believes, but anyone thinking Lowry is all about nostalgia, a reflector of simpler, gentler times, is likely to be surprised. Bleak, desolate seascapes reflect the depressions he went through. "He was very up front and talked about just what a struggle he found life sometimes," said Simpson. | Visitors will come to their own conclusions, the gallery believes, but anyone thinking Lowry is all about nostalgia, a reflector of simpler, gentler times, is likely to be surprised. Bleak, desolate seascapes reflect the depressions he went through. "He was very up front and talked about just what a struggle he found life sometimes," said Simpson. |
| Part of Lowry's isolation and loneliness arose from nursing his bedridden mother for most of the 1930s, working as a rent collector by day and looking after her at night. | Part of Lowry's isolation and loneliness arose from nursing his bedridden mother for most of the 1930s, working as a rent collector by day and looking after her at night. |
| After her death in 1939 and the second world war, his feelings became more noticeable in the empty seascapes that Lowry talked about in terms of the ebb and flow and immensity of life. "You get the sense that life was just swamping him at that time." | After her death in 1939 and the second world war, his feelings became more noticeable in the empty seascapes that Lowry talked about in terms of the ebb and flow and immensity of life. "You get the sense that life was just swamping him at that time." |
| The show also contains the unexpectedly surreal, drawings that have seals and sharks and fish. "I kind of wonder what medication he was on with some of them," said Simpson. | The show also contains the unexpectedly surreal, drawings that have seals and sharks and fish. "I kind of wonder what medication he was on with some of them," said Simpson. |
| Very early life drawings and portraits from the 1920s may surprise his doubters. They are actually very good. "One of the statements I always hear is that he couldn't draw, but these show he was a perfectly acceptable draftsman. He had the basic skills, and you look at some of the portraits and I think: 'Show that to 100 people and 99 would not guess it was Lowry.'" | Very early life drawings and portraits from the 1920s may surprise his doubters. They are actually very good. "One of the statements I always hear is that he couldn't draw, but these show he was a perfectly acceptable draftsman. He had the basic skills, and you look at some of the portraits and I think: 'Show that to 100 people and 99 would not guess it was Lowry.'" |
| All the works have been in storage since Lowry died in 1976. They were cleared from his chaotically overfilled house in Mottram in Longdendale, and have been in the hands of the Lowry estate, under the stewardship of Carol Lowry – no relation, but someone whom Lowry bonded with because he thought she had potential as an artist. | |
| The centre is staging the show in part because it is heavily depleted of Lowry's catalogue, with so many works sent to London for the Tate Britain show. | The centre is staging the show in part because it is heavily depleted of Lowry's catalogue, with so many works sent to London for the Tate Britain show. |
| Simpson hopes it will be a counterpoint, that it will show the more complex side of an artist who still polarises opinion, hugely popular on the one hand but derided by much of the art establishment on the other. | Simpson hopes it will be a counterpoint, that it will show the more complex side of an artist who still polarises opinion, hugely popular on the one hand but derided by much of the art establishment on the other. |
| • Unseen Lowry is at the Lowry in Salford 22 June-29 September | • Unseen Lowry is at the Lowry in Salford 22 June-29 September |
| • This article was amended on 24 June 2013. An earlier version said the works in the exhibition had been cleared from Lowry's house in Pendlebury. They were cleared from the house in Mottram in Longdendale where he was living when he died. |