Lowry for Christmas
Musings on L. S. Lowry and a love letter to the North.
This piece was written in collaboration with The Department of Art History, Curating and Visual Culture at the University of Birmingham. Check out The Golovine for the original article and more incredible writing from my peers!
When asked the question: ‘Which artwork reminds you of Christmas?’ I look no further than the works of L. S. Lowry and more specifically, Going to the Match (1953).
Lowry, Going to the Match, c. 1953, Oil on canvas, 71 cm × 91.5 cm, The Lowry, Manchester.
Going to the Match shows football fans at Burnden Park, Bolton, the then home of Bolton Wanderers football club, a ground only a few miles from Pendlebury in Salford, and often visited by Lowry as a young man. Lowry was renowned for his paintings depicting industrial districts of Northwest England in the mid-twentieth century - with his distinctive style of painting being best known for their urban landscapes populated with human figures, often referred to as “matchstick men”.
Lowry’s “matchstick men” stand as some of the most iconic artistic motifs of twentieth century British Art. These distinctive figures populate the majority of his work, set against a backdrop of muted grey and brown tones. This artistic choice led many critics to deem Lowry a “Sunday painter”, loosely defined as an amateur artist with minimal formal training. Critics contended that Lowry’s art was repetitive, implying a lack of imagination on the part of the artist. However, I wholeheartedly disagree with this assessment.
Lowry’s paintings were a reflection of the clockwork comings-and-goings that marked the everyday experience of the Northern working class, of which he was a part of. The seemingly uniform matchstick men in his works function as a deliberate means of capturing the affectionate monotony of a community, without elevating his subjects to a heroic status. In fact, I would venture as to saying that it is precisely these sentiments that underscore Lowry’s significance to the working classes of Britain. His art, steeped in familiarity, serves to celebrate and immortalise the humdrum yet endearing essence of his community’s existence.
Lowry, Going to Work, c. 1943, Oil on canvas, 45.7 cm × 60.9 cm, Imperial War Museum, Manchester.
My association of Going to the Match with Christmas is deeply rooted in the emotions stirred whenever I encounter one of Lowry's paintings. His art acts like a wave of nostalgia, consistently bringing me back to the comforts and familiarity of home, a sentiment intrinsically tied to the festive season. To provide context for why Lowry's works hold such a resonance for me, let me share a bit about where I’m from.
I was born and raised in the town of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Huddersfield, a town nestled at the foot of the Pennines and famous for its neoclassical Victorian architecture as well as a long history of industry; my hometown has always felt, to me, like a snapshot in time of an industrial, working England. Growing up, I would look no further than my bedroom window to see landscapes of moorlands and mills and see, for myself, the world in which Lowry depicted in his paintings.
St George's Square, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, 1948.
When I look at Going to the Match, what strikes me is the absence of weather effects and the somewhat blank quality of the canvas; the scenes depicted within the work almost inviting the illusion of snow. The “matchstick men” - those anonymous football fans in the distance - evoke vivid memories of bustling through rickety turnstiles on a winter match day. It's a familiar scene – moving through crowds of people and looking around to see the faces of your schoolteachers, neighbours, and the landlady from your local.
There's a resonance in Going to the Match that perfectly encapsulates the essence of Christmas at home for me. The white expanse of the ground and the figures bundled in coats and hats collectively contribute to the overall illusion of a winter's day. This artwork stirs memories of the festive season, where the crispness of the air, the distant mills in the background, and the sea of familiar faces blend seamlessly into a homely winterscape.
On a more candid note: I would be remiss if I did not mention how Lowry, for me, is synonymous with my grandad. My grandad, Mel, was an avid miniaturist, and every encounter I have with a Lowry work brings to mind the extensive collection of miniature scenes he used to showcase. He even went as far as to painstakingly make an entire miniature castle for my Year Eight history project, complete with my own “matchstick men”. I got an A. Cheers grandad.
It was as a child in my grandad's study that I found a love for art and local history – which, amazingly enough, is how I spend most of my time now as adult studying Art History. Saturdays at my grandparents' house meant immersing myself in miniature scenes of castles, moats, towns, and markets. I would spend hours delving into local history and art books that painted a vivid picture of Northern industrial life; which, as a university student living away from the familiar comforts and quirks of my hometown, these memories become a connection to the essence of the festive season and memories of family and home.
As Lowry chief executive Julia Fawcett says: "This is an artist who speaks to the north in a way others simply can't. He has a very special place in the hearts of, not just Salford, but right across the North." Going to the Match, for me, transcends its portrayal of football fans at Burnden Park, holding a place in my heart as a solace and a connection to home at Christmas.