He was a prolific artist, but rarely have so many paintings by Wigan’s own James Lawrence Isherwood gone on sale at the same time.
More than 100 of his works – the collection of is late partner Pat White – could be snaffled up by collectors at exhibitions this month organised by Hepplestone Fine Art Gallery based in Lancashire and Cheshire.
Admired and collected by the likes of LS Lowry, Isherwood remains one of the North West’s best known and widely collected artists even after nearly 40 years since his death in 1989.
Pat’s collection is one of the largest known of Isherwood’s work and comes to market for the very first time in a huge exhibition spanning three decades of his illustrious career.
She met Isherwood following an exhibition in Hoylake in 1975 when she purchased a painting by the artist.
White discovered that the painting was unsigned so arranged to meet Isherwood at the Scarisbrick Hotel to arrange for him to sign the painting.
The meeting led to a four-year relationship and Isherwood himself stated, “she came to the exhibition to buy a painting and she finished up with the artist!”
Pat was a wealthy widow who owned a home in Malta so, for this period of his life, he was able to travel across Europe which influenced both the colour palette and subject matter of his works during this time too.
This also marked a period when Isherwood was also able to paint on canvas rather than his usual hardboard as Pat would buy him superior materials to those which he was accustomed.
She even bought him 60 canvases for his 60th birthday and Christmas gifts from her children would also often be art materials and canvas.
Pat’s collection of Isherwood paintings was truly unique, both for its provenance, given her immediate proximity to the artist, along with its variety with regards to both period and subject matter.
Gallery owner Giles Hepplestone said: “The exhibition includes incredibly rare early works dating back to as early as 1951, to later works executed in the late 1970s during their travels to Europe and particularly Malta.
“Although these works have never been available to purchase before, many of the works were photographed and illustrated in Stephen Eckersley’s Isherwood book which offers further insight into their relationship and her influence on his work.
“The exhibition allows a rare opportunity to view and purchase from a truly unique personal collection intimately connected to the artist.”
The works will be available to view at the Hepplestone Fine Art Gallery at Heskin Hall Shopping Village, near Chorley, from Sunday May 10.
The selection of works will then move to the business’s Wilmslow gallery in Cheshire from Saturday May 16.
Further information is available by contacting the gallery on 01257 451121 or [email protected]
Last year Wigan bar chain boss Tony Callaghan revealed that he was considering putting his substantial collection of Isherwoods on the market, saying that most were in storage with nowhere to display them and he wanted more people to appreciate them. An alternative course of action, he said, was loaning them out for exhibitions.
