3  THE ART OBSERVER Another down-to-earth, honest- to-goodness, northern painter was Theodore Major (1908 - 1999). He had the reputation of being a cantankerous  old man who didn’t want anything to do with art dealers and wasn’t much interested in selling his work anyway. He accumulated vast numbers of his paintings, having to buy the house next door to provide storage space for his canvases, some of which were very large indeed. It was some time after his death that his daughter arranged a retrospective exhibition of his work at the Salford Art Gallery releasing many of his paintings to private collectors. Theodore Major’s work sold very well during the Northern Artists exhibition in Didsbury. His powerful oil paintings ranged in size from small to vast and represented, on initial viewing, a fairly bleak northern scene. In the landscapes, the grey, lowering skies dwarfed the small, upright anonymous figures, yet there was always a special and magical ray of light shining through from behind the clouds, perhaps giving a glimmer of hope to the scene. Very different in subject and style were his still lives, painted in thick, vibrant luscious oil and introducing  subtle reds and blues alongside his signature greys and blacks. Depicting the local area in a slightly different way were the works of Arthur Delaney (1927 - 1987). His paintings of pre-war Manchester showed street scenes in amazing detail, with familiar landmark buildings, the old trams and passers-by, nostalgically giving an insight into everyday life in the Manchester of the twenties and thirties. Paintings of the more rural scenes in Cumbria and Lancashire, by the artists Helen Bradley (1900 - 1979) and Peter Brook (b.1927), gave a different aspect to the northern scene. An unusual land- scape by Helen Bradley, together with her more famous type of subject matter: ‘Me, now that I am a Grannie’, brought admiring and amusing comments from the onlookers. The winter landscapes by Peter Brook portrayed the chilly Cumbrian air whilst work- ing dogs gathered near stone farmhouses. There were other, equally respect- ed, northern artists included in this special exhibition: Fred Yates (b.1922), no longer living in this country but enjoying his advancing years in the south of France, John Thompson (b.1924) with his evocative paintings of men in cloth caps, and Roger Hampson’s nostalgic paintings of miners. The youngest member of this group of northern artists was Liam Spencer (b.1964) whose work was deservedly being shown with the great and the good. It is now widely accepted that Liam Spencer has become one of the most important artists to come from Manchester. In fact it was Liam again who attracted the queue before the preview opened. They were waiting to snap up the few Liam Spencer paintings that were available for sale. Not surprisingly so, because Liam’s paintings are still relatively affordable. However, the star of the show was, of course, L.S. Lowry (1887 - 1976), and pieces of work by this artist did sell even though the prices ranged from £10,000 to £450,000. Lowry’s exhibits covered all mediums from pencil drawings and pastels to water- colours and oil paintings, providing a visual feast and comprehensive representation of his styles and media. When asked for her view on how she thought the exhibition had been received Wendy said “It has been truly fantastic. It has been a privilege to be surrounded by so many wonderful paintings and drawings and I know that members of the public have thoroughly enjoyed seeing the exhibition. Thankfully, many items sold which is wonderful and means that we can have a similar exhibition again in the future. But I was also very happy that so many people just came to look. Everyone had so many lovely comments to make and all those who came were so pleased to have been given the opportunity  to see this wonderful collection - it was one of the most worthwhile exhibitions I have ever mounted. I am very grateful to Bill Clark of Clark Art Ltd who gave me the opportunity of mounting this exhibition. We are looking forward to working together on the next one”. Below: People from far and wide came to be in the company of such great works of art “MANY ITEMS SOLD WHICH MEANS THAT WE CAN HAVE A SIMILAR EXHIBITION IN THE FUTURE” Left: Pastel Drawing by Lowry Below:Three Figures by Lowry Opposite page: Still Life by Theodore Major December 2005