Title: A Market Scene in a Northern Town

Medium: Offset lithograph in colours on wove paper

Edition: Limited to 850, each hand-signed in pencil by the artist

Publisher: Venture Prints Ltd., Bristol

Date: Published 1973

A Market Scene in a Northern Town is a quintessential example of L. S. Lowry’s deep connection to the life and rhythms of northern England. Published in 1973 in an edition of 850, each print is individually hand-signed by Lowry in pencil, lending the work an added level of rarity and collectability.

The composition presents a bustling town market square animated with Lowry’s trademark “matchstick” figures, set against a backdrop of terraced housing, cobbled streets, and industrial-era architecture. Traders and townsfolk mill about, engaged in the rituals of everyday life — buying, selling, talking — all under Lowry’s observant and empathetic eye. The scene is both specific and universal, capturing the social character of a time and place, while resonating with broader human experience.

Executed in muted tones of grey, brown, and ochre, with hints of red and blue punctuating the crowd, the print displays Lowry’s skill in balancing composition and narrative. It speaks to the enduring vitality of community in the industrial North — a subject the artist returned to throughout his career with affection, humour, and nuance.

A Market Scene in a Northern Town was one of the final series of limited editions produced during Lowry’s lifetime, and was published by Venture Prints, a firm he worked closely with in the early 1970s. The print was lithographed by Chorley & Pickersgill Ltd., a respected northern printer who successfully translated Lowry’s distinctive palette and draftsmanship into print form.

This hand-signed limited edition is particularly prized by collectors and institutions alike, representing one of Lowry’s most socially rich and visually detailed compositions. Examples in excellent condition continue to perform strongly on the secondary market, reflecting both the strength of Lowry’s legacy and the ongoing appeal of his vision of everyday life.