Lowry was famous for painting industrial scenes, and scenes of life in northern England during the early 20th century. He had a highly distinctive style of painting, which often involved "matchstick men" figures of distant people in industrial scenes, using drab colours.
Lowry was born into a poor working class family, and worked for many years as a rent collector and a cashier, painting in his spare time. His work only began to be appreciated by the wider art world towards the end of his life.
An art gallery called "The Lowry" centre was opened in Manchester in 2000. Much of his work is displayed there.