Laurence Stephen Lowry, R.A (1887-1976) The Harbour (Maryport) After the original 1957 painting of the same name Signed Limited edition print on wove paper from the edition of 850 Image size: 16 x 22 inches (40.5 x 56 cm) Signed “L.S. Lowry” in pencil lower right Stamped by the Fine Art Trade Guild Published by Venture prints in 1972 Literature: Henry Donn, The Illustrated Limited Editions of L.S.Lowry, Scolar Press, 1979, p.22 Lowry often visited Cumbria, especially Maryport (the subject of the current work) where his close friend and collector Geoffrey Bennet lived. His other good friend and fellow artist, Sheila Fell, lived in Aspatria in Cumbria so the sea and landscape of the area became regular subjects for him on his visits. The working vessels as opposed to leisure craft especially interested him as an extension of his vision of the industrial landscape of the city. The Museum of Modern Art in New York acquired Ships Near Cumberland Coast in 1963. The current work was painted in 1957 when Lowry was 70, the year he received the letter from a young art student, Carol Lowry, which would change her life forever and provide him with one of his most important muses. He initially didn’t reply to Carol’s letter but months later, feeling lonely, he read it again and on impulse jumped on a bus, turning up unannounced on her doorstep in Heywood, Lancashire. When he died in 1976 having spent the last 20 years tutoring her and developing a friendship so strong he was referred to as “Uncle Lowry”, Carol Ann inherited the entirety of Lowry’s estate. 40.