Interviews revealed that L. S. Lowry believed his paintings would be worthless L. S. Lowry

L. S. Lowry was convinced that his paintings would be worthless after his death, he confided in a never-before-heard interview.

Although the artist had some success in his later years, Lowry never imagined that he would become one of Britain’s best-loved artists or that his paintings would sell for millions of pounds.

Going to the Match, his 1953 painting depicting crowds of spectators streaming into a football stadium, sold for £7.8 million in 2022.

Half a century after his death, Sir Ian McKellen is now starring in a BBC documentary called LS Lowry: The Unheard Tapes, which is based on a collection of never-before-heard audio recordings.

McKellen has been described as “the last words of a great artist” and was an intensely private man, who would lip-synch his dialogue.

In the tapes, the artist is heard saying: “One day, you might be walking down a street and look into the window of a junk shop. You’ll see an upside-down picture, with the words ‘Cheap 30 shillings’ written on it. And you’ll be mine.”

Beginning in 1972, over the course of four years, Laurie conducted his longest and most revealing interview with a young fan, Angela Barratt. She died in 2022 and the tapes remained hidden in her home in Manchester. It has not been broadcast yet.

Laurie bared his soul to her. He confirmed that his family and friends harassed him about his paintings. “I didn’t make money,” he said. “People were laughing at them wholeheartedly… All my friends were joking about it: ‘How’s the art business?’; ‘Are you making your money at it?’; ‘Don’t be a fool, why don’t you give it up?’”

At the age of 17, Laurie enrolled in evening art classes. On selling his first painting, he said: “It was 1921. I got £5 for it. I was 34… My family had the shock of their lives when I sold it. They couldn’t believe I could sell anything.”

When asked if his mother liked his paintings, Laurie replied, “No, I don’t think so. Me and my father.” [who worked as a clerk for an estate agent] I used to get hysterical if I sold a photo. He couldn’t understand it.”

Laurie became frustrated: “I was often very bored. I said what was the point of doing this, many times.”

However, Lowry is beloved by audiences for his unique depiction of working-class urban life, his mill scenes and the industrial landscapes of northern England, populated by his characteristic men in matchsticks.

When his family ran into financial difficulties, they moved to Pendlebury in Salford, then an area plagued by pollution, noise and poverty: “I didn’t like it at all for a long time, and I couldn’t get used to it. Then I was fascinated by it. After a while I started to think, ‘Has anyone ever painted this scene before?’ And I found out they hadn’t.”

When asked if he preferred the “industrial” point of view to the “beautiful places”, he replied: “I don’t like the south of England, if that’s what you mean. It’s harmless. There’s no grit in it… boring… a terrible place.”

Laurie has worked as a rent collector for the same Manchester real estate company for 42 years. He was afraid that if people knew about his day job they would assume that he only painted in his spare time and was therefore an amateur. He really wanted to be taken seriously.

One of his friends says in the documentary that they didn’t find out about his job until after he died. “Someone told us, and frankly, we couldn’t believe it. We thought they were wrong. It was a little hurtful to feel that he was so close to this man, and he was keeping the secret.”

When Barratt praised him for putting “the industrial landscape on the map”. [with] “These are wonderful paintings,” Laurie replied modestly, “that is very kind of you. Thank you for that.”

He added: “I feel about my painting. I did the best I could.”