James Lawrence Isherwood

James Lawrence Isherwood was born in Wigan in 1917 where he devoted his life to painting.

Born into a family of cobblers, Isherwood's life was to take a different path, the path of an artist. Once described as a man born into the wrong age, he was said to have been better suited to turn of the century Paris. Wigan was however to be his home and had a formative influence on his work.

Although well known in his lifetime with national press reviews and even a BBC documentary about him, locally he was largely seen as an eccentric local artist whose work was not fully appreciated.  His work was purchased during his lifetime however by the likes of King Charles whilst a student at Cambridge and Twentieth Century great, L S Lowry.  Lowry boasted 'I only by paintings that I like and I bought an Isherwood years ago'.  His Isherwood hung proudly behind his easel at The Elms in Mottram and can be seen in many archive photographs from Lowry's home.

Since his death in the late 1980's however, the value of Isherwood's original paintings has increased steadily with a record auction price in excess of £8000. Isherwood painted a number of celebrities including Gracie Fields, The Beatles and infamously Mary Whitehouse (with five breasts).

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