James Lawrence Isherwood

British 1917 – 1989

Isherwood was a prolific artist, and his works display the characteristics of the transition between Impressionist and Expressionist styles. He is known for his Wigan Style and Wigan figure paintings. These together with his London scenes, Wigan street scenes, are his most sought after works. Isherwood was a friend of the artist L. S. Lowry, who purchased his Woman with Black Cat and displayed it at his home. Lowry paid £5 for the picture from Isherwood’s Av Guard exhibition in Manchester. Other known collectors include King Charles, who bought one of Isherwood’s seascapes from a sale held at Cambridge University. A past Director General of the BBC Hugh Greene commissioned a portrait of Mary Whitehouse, his vociferous critic, from Isherwood; the artist depicted her with five breasts. Isherwood gave the painting a punning title – Sanctity, and Hugh Greene allegedly hung it in his office so that he could throw things at it.

Always short of money, Isherwood traveled the country in his old estate car, usually accompanied by his mother Lily. He liked to pitch up at art colleges and give impromptu tutorials, and usually paid for his hotel room with a painting. …He also offered magistrates a painting in lieu of a fine when prosecuted for driving with no tax or insurance. Isherwood’s work is now highly sought after and is held in many collections.