Help sought to verify drawings believed to be by LS Lowry of Sunderland in the 1950s

Nat White of Shropshire bought two small pencil drawings, now in a frame, of seascapes which Lowry is understood to have produced during one of many visits to his beloved Wearside. They are each approximately four inches by six.

The drawings are dated 1959, when shipbuilding was in full swing on the River Wear. They are entitled Sea Trials and depict ships.

Nat is hoping to find out more about the work and hopes that someone in Sunderland might recognise the images.

Lowry was a very regular guest at the Seaburn Hotel, now the Grand Hotel, always staying in room 104. Nat thinks the artist could have produced the work to present to someone at the hotel as a token of appreciation.

The drawings are signed with a signature familiar to Lowry aficionados.

They are unlikely to be considered among the artist’s best work, but if they can be authenticated they could be worth quite a bit more than the £85 Nat paid for them in a Shrewsbury antiques shop.

In March 2023 a Lowry pencil sketch of Penshaw Monument was sold privately for £18,500. The record sale for a Lowry painting was in 2022 when Going to the Match changed hands for £7.8million.

Nat said: “The Seaburn Hotel is actually mentioned in the work I bought. I think he perhaps wanted to give it to a member of staff.

“The pictures are called Sea Trials. I suppose while he was there painting, something has put to sea and he’s just drawn them. They’re very similar.

“I’m not an expert, but I’ve stood in front of Lowry’s signature quite frequently. There’s bits of his handwriting on the items and to me it looks absolutely perfect. Since I bought it I’ve been doing a bit of research.”

An art expert in Hampshire was unable to help Nat. If anyone can shed some light on the matter, please contact the Sunderland Echo.

Laurence Stephen Lowry died in Derbyshire in 1976 aged 88. A number of his works hang in the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens.