Mrs. Lowry And Son - Timothy Spall brings iconic artist to the big screen

A new biopic puts the spotlight on LS Lowry’s relationship with his mother

Timothy Spall as LS Lowry and Vanessa Redgrave as his mother in Mrs Lowry & Son, which is released on August 30 (Image: not Archant)

Timothy Spall has already brought one feted artist to the big screen and his new film explores the complex and not always happy relationship LS Lowry had with his mother.

Mrs Lowry & Son will be released in cinemas on August 30 and features Spall, who also starred as Turner in a 2014 biopic, as the rent collector-turned-artist with Vanessa Redgrave as his over-bearing bed-ridden mother, Elizabeth.

The film premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival at the end of June and Julia Fawcett OBE, chief executive of The Lowry in Salford, said: '43 years after his death, Lowry continues to make headlines. Be it multi-million pound auctions of his work, an overwhelmingly popular 'people's campaign' to have him feature on the new £20 bank note - to which he was pipped by Turner - or in this case, the release of a major feature film.

'Lowry holds a place in the psyche of not just proud Salfordians - but communities across country. Thousands of people visit our gallery each year and often recall how every household of their childhood would have a Lowry print on the wall.

Timothy Spall as LS Lowry in Mrs Lowry & Son, which is released on August 30 (Image: not Archant)

'We're excited for Mrs Lowry & Son to hit the big screen and the interest it will drum-up in his life and work with a new generation of cinemagoers.'

To coincide with the biopic, t he Lowry is hosting a special display which includes behind the scenes photographs, props from the set, film clips, mood boards, shooting schedules and the final screenplay signed by the film's stars. A selection of paintings and watercolours by Timothy Spall, painted during and after filming, feature in the display and they sit alongside The Lowry's permanent exhibition, LS Lowry: The Art & The Artist.

Claire Stewart, curator of The Lowry Collection, said: 'This is a real treat for LS Lowry fans.

'Mrs Lowry & Son brings to life the very complicated relationship that Lowry had with his mother - who features in a number of his paintings and drawings we have in the collection.

'We're delighted to be working with the producers to give visitors to our permanent exhibition this special insight ahead of the film's release later in the summer. Timothy Spall is a talented painter in his own right and this is a special opportunity to see his paintings.'