Mill Scene
Mill Scene
Signed Print
L S Lowry
£1,600-£2,450Value Indicator
$3,350-$5,000 Value Indicator
$2,950-$4,550 Value Indicator
¥16,000-¥24,000 Value Indicator
€1,850-€2,850 Value Indicator
$17,000-$25,000 Value Indicator
¥310,000-¥470,000 Value Indicator
$2,150-$3,250 Value Indicator
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
There aren't enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.
Medium: Lithograph
Edition size: 750
Year: 1972
Size: H 31cm x W 40cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Location | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2024 | Rosebery's Fine Art Auctioneers | United Kingdom | |||
| June 2024 | Bonhams New Bond Street | United Kingdom | |||
| May 2024 | Lyon & Turnbull Edinburgh | United Kingdom | |||
| March 2024 | Dawsons, Berkshire | United Kingdom | |||
| September 2023 | Rosebery's Fine Art Auctioneers | United Kingdom | |||
| June 2023 | Rosebery's Fine Art Auctioneers | United Kingdom | |||
| March 2023 | Rosebery's Fine Art Auctioneers | United Kingdom |
Meaning & Analysis
In Mill Scene, dogs, figures, lampposts and smoke all bend against the inhospitable landscape, evoking a stormy day outside the dark Satanic Mill. The ominous atmosphere of the painting is reinforced by the artist’s gloomy, reduced colour palette. Lowry only used five colours: Ivory Black, Vermillion, Prussian Blue, Yellow Ochre and Flake White. Despite the subject matter and composition, the scene doesn’t necessarily evoke a depressing atmosphere - there is beauty in the bleakness and a sense of vibrancy through the mass of people roaming the industrial city streets. The buildings jump out in brick red from a white smoggy sky, smoke rises from the chimneys, and there is a faded city looming in the background. Lowry famously found his subject after overlooking and even despising the scenes he came to obsessively depict. Outside a mill just like the one in Mill Scene he said, “I watched this scene – which I’d look at many times without seeing – with rapture.”
Born in 1887, L. S. Lowry was a key figure in 20th century British painting. Known for his distinctive painterly style and 'matchstick men', Lowry aimed to put industry on the map by typically focusing on scenes from his hometown in the North West of England. The naivety of his art drew criticism, yet has stood the test of time with the artist becoming a household name. Lowry has consistently performed in the secondary market, with works such as Going To The Match achieving a value of £2,919,000 in 2021 and the editioned prints remaining highly sought after.
