Arthur McEvoy Delaney born 9 December 1927,

Chorlton upon Medlock Chorlton-on-Medlock or Chorlton-upon-Medlock is an inner city area of Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, Chorlton-on-Medlock is bordered to the north by the River Medlock, which runs immediately south of Manchester city centre. It ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

- died 17 April 1987 (

Manchester Royal Infirmary Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) is a large NHS teaching hospital in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, England. Founded by Charles White in 1752 as part of the voluntary hospital movement of the 18th century, it is now a major regional and nati ...

, Manchester) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

whose scenes of

life were influenced by those of

L. S. Lowry Laurence Stephen Lowry ( ; 1 November 1887 – 23 February 1976) was an English artist. His drawings and paintings mainly depict Pendlebury, Lancashire (where he lived and worked for more than 40 years) as well as Salford and its vicinity ...

, gaining some popularity since his death. He is alleged to be the illegitimate son of

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

Frank Randle Frank Randle (born Arthur Hughes, also known as Arthur McEvoy or Arthur Twist; 30 January 1901 – 7 July 1957) was an English comedian. A contemporary of fellow Lancastrians George Formby and Gracie Fields, he was regarded as more subv ...

(born Arthur Hughes). His mother, Genevieve Delaney (also known as Willis (born Kelshaw)) was a

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

artiste who appeared with her sister, Mary Monica Kelshaw (also known as Lee); their act was known as Delaney and Lee. At 13 years of age, he joined a

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

design studio in Manchester where he worked for the next 32 years. He married his childhood sweetheart, Joan Campion, in 1949 and they had four children. He started to paint as a means of relaxation. There were two great influences in his life that were to effect his own development as a painter. One was the work of L. S. Lowry and the other was the memories of the happy years he spent as a boy in the Manchester of the 1930s with its smoke-laden skies, rattling tramcars and gas lamps. Lowry's work made him aware of the many special qualities of the north and soon he began producing street scenes and industrial landscapes. His paintings were not stylised but a true likeness to their location. He set out to capture the atmosphere of the 1930s and all of his paintings capture the nostalgia of the period. In April 1974 he held a very successful one-man show at the Tib Lane Gallery in Manchester, with all the pictures selling within half an hour at the preview. His paintings continued to sell well during his lifetime and he exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

. Many of his paintings were produced as limited-edition prints. In 2010 a painting by Delaney, in the style of

L.S. Lowry Laurence Stephen Lowry ( ; 1 November 1887 – 23 February 1976) was an English artist. His drawings and paintings mainly depict Pendlebury, Lancashire (where he lived and worked for more than 40 years) as well as Salford and its vicinity ...

, and painted as a homage to him, was auctioned after being seized by police from convicted fraudster Maurice Taylor. Taylor had purchased the painting for £7,500 in 2004; a signature "L S Lowry, 1964" had been added, before the painting was sold for £330,000 to a specialist dealer in Lowrys. The painting, of a snowbound Mill Street, Manchester, had been given an insurance valuation of £600,000 by the auctioneers

Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought to ...

. The painting was said to lack fluidity, with muddy skies and with the lamp-posts wrongly highlighted in red.

References

1927 births 1987 deaths 20th-century English painters English male painters People from Rusholme 20th-century English male artists {{England-painter-stub