An artist is being sought to create a piece to be ‘displayed prominently’ at an upcoming LS Lowry exhibition . Bolton Council has advertised the commission for an artist to create illustrations for a visual story map showing the key features of a walk the artist LS Lowry used to do from his home in Pendlebury to Bolton.
The illustrations will feature in an exhibition opening at Bolton Museum on March 25 built around Lowry’s famous ‘Going to the Match’ painting, which shows the old Bolton Wanderers stadium at Burnden Park. The artist will also be asked to portray some Bolton football fans in a ‘cigarette card’ style for the art show.
A job description posted on the Arts Council England website, said: “In the 1910s and 1920s, Lowry used to walk from his home in Pendlebury to Bolton, passing cotton mills, collieries and Bolton Wanderers’ Burnden Park stadium on the way. “In later life, he said that the walk gave him the idea of painting ‘the industrial scene’.
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“The illustrations will form part of a visual story map, displayed prominently in the exhibition, depicting key landmarks or features along the route of Lowry’s walk. “We are looking for an illustration style that complements rather than copies Lowry’s famous style.
“The commission will also include the creation of several portraits of Bolton Wanderers fans in a football collectors or cigarette card style.” LS Lowry’s ‘Going to the Match’ is a 1953 work showing fans arriving for a Bolton Wanderers game at their former home of Burnden Park.
It was put up for auction at Christie’s in October 2022 and was eventually sold to The Lowry centre in Salford for a record £8.1m. The purchase was made possible by a gift from the Law Family Charitable Foundation, and followed a public campaign fronted by Salford Mayor Paul Dennett.
At a celebration event at The Lowry after the purchase, chief executive Julia Fawcett confirmed the masterpiece would be making its way to Bolton this year. It will be the centrepiece of the exhibition ‘Going to the Match: LS Lowry & Bolton Wanderers”, opening on Saturday, March 25.
The exhibition will explore Lowry’s links to Bolton and the wider history of Bolton Wanderers. The painting was shown to King Charles and the Queen Consort during their Royal visit to Bolton Town Hall on January 20.
The commission brief asks those interested to submit a brief statement explaining how they would approach the commission including examples of previous work by Monday, February 6. The council said finalised illustrations would need to be sent to them by Friday, March 3 and the commission has a budget of up to £3,250.
Those interested can find out more at www.artsjobs.org.uk/jobs/15179.
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