The following is a description of a painting auctioned on ebay, item number 190585788558. It ended on the 15th October 2011, the item received 36 bids and winning bidder paid £657.77. Potential bidders should have considered the following: 1, Does the seller know anything about J Lawrence Isherwood……….No, they admit to not knowing anything, they have - Click here to read more

  A unique summer art show featuring eight northern painters took place in Wigan on the 19th and 20th June 2010. The show-piece of the two day event at Wigan Town Hall were paintings by Wigan’s J Lawrence Isherwood and Appley Bridge’s Theodore Major. But other artists – some well known and some striving to make a name for - Click here to read more

It is well-known that throughout his life, Isherwood found it difficult to sell his paintings. And so many were in his home in Wigan, it was impossible to discover if any had been stolen following a break-in. The local evening paper – The Post and Chronicle – in the artist’s home town broke the story - Click here to read more

In Arts News and Review, Mervyn Levy (author of books on L S Lowry and his greatest champion) said of Isherwood’s third London show: “Mr Lawrence Isherwood, a Northerner, is a painter of considerable energy, working often with consummate brilliance, in the established Expressionist style. For him, the swift, unimpeded flow of paint from the - Click here to read more

  If people would not take trouble to look at his paintings, then Isherwood would take his art to the people. In his lifetime, he held around 200 one-man shows all over the country, and his favourite “exhibition-sale” cities were London, Oxford and Cambridge. Over many weeks he would create hundreds of works of art - Click here to read more

  Wine glasses clinked and coffee flowed when the exhibition of 60 superb Isherwood paintings opened a the purpose-built Turnpike Gallery in Leigh on Saturday 7th November 2009. And in addition to many admirers, the show was also graced with the attendance of Molly Isherwood, the artist’s sister-in-law who has done so much to promote - Click here to read more

I suppose you can look at the restoration of a painting in two different ways. The first being, don’t, it should be left just as it is. Let the painting speak for itself. The second being, bring the painting back to its former glory. I think I come down on the side of leave it, - Click here to read more

  A superb naive painting of Jim Isherwood has been completed by former Wigan antiques dealer Jimmy Collins. Jimmy is more than familiar with Isherwood’s work – the artist used to call at his premises on Wigan Lane to show his latest works of art. In fact, years ago, when dealing with house clearances, Jimmy - Click here to read more

In the early 1970s, Jim Isherwood was delighted and couldn’t wait to tell anyone who would listen that the TV people would soon be arriving in Wigan to make a film about his life and his art. It was true. The BBC producer Douglas Boys, who liked the artist’s work, had come up with the - Click here to read more

In the 1960s and early 70s, limited edition prints signed by L S Lowry were selling like hot cakes. That’s why having held several exhibitions for Isherwood in the 70s, his agent  decided an Isherwood limited edition of one of his “best” paintings would be a winner. Isherwood agreed with the choice “The Lancashire Mine” - Click here to read more

 J Lawrence Isherwood suffered many blows during his lifetime, but undoubtedly the day fire raged through part of the downstairs rooms of the house was, other than the death of Mother Lily, the worst. The semi-detached house on Wigan Lane had been the Isherwood family home for many years. It was bereft of central heating - Click here to read more

 Colin de Rouffignac, Antique Dealer He can laugh about it now. But two decades ago, antiques dealer Colin de Rouffignac had the opportunity to buy the complete collection of paintings by J Lawrence Isherwood. And who was offering this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? The artist himself. It was the spring of 1989 and Isherwood was a shadow - Click here to read more

  Isherwood always told people he was writing a book about his life and his art. He made notes but a final book never graced any bookshelf. Amongst his papers – which were finally sorted years after his death – Isherwood’s book notes emerged; and like the man himself they were scrappy and a little - Click here to read more

  Isherwood painted most of his works of art on board. As collectors know, the quality hardboard used by the artist has stood the test of time. Even works on board from the 1950s are still perfect. But now, artbyisherwood has found documentation revealing just who supplied the hardboard. Susan Corner tells that Jim Isherwood - Click here to read more

  Wigan has a new £2m Museum of Wigan Life – and a small  part has been devoted to Isherwood. The Wigan Culture and Leisure Trust has created the grand new facility in the History Shop where George Orwell studied in 1936 while researching his book The Road to Wigan Pier. As our photograph shows, - Click here to read more

Lily Isherwood doted on her sons Jim and Gordon. But she was devastated when, as the war came to and end, the sons married two sisters. She was so distraught at the thought that her boys leaving home, she refused point blank to attend the wedding. She stayed inside the walls of 151 Wigan Lane - Click here to read more

  A signed print of Field Marshal Montgomery of Alamein and painted by J Lawrence Isherwood  was featured on “Dickinson’s Real Deal” TV show from Lancaster, screened on 14th May 2010. The large print – one of a limited edition of just 75 – was bought almost 30 years ago for £300. Amazingly, when antiques dealer - Click here to read more

No-one knows more about the late James Lawrence Isherwood than Molly Isherwood, his sister-in-law. She knew him as a close family member for half a century and since his death in 1989 she’s made it her ambition to promote his work and ensure that he wasn’t a forgotten genius. Isherwood was a self-obsessed and selfish - Click here to read more

Our Memories of Jim Isherwood I first met Jim, and his mother Lily, in 1966 during one of his shows at Trinity College, Cambridge. My first impression was of a man whose softly spoken and self-effacing character was a refreshing change to the increasingly brash and fast-pace world of the sixties that we were all - Click here to read more

  One of Isherwood’s most controversial paintings and one which gained national publicity was “Mary Whitehouse with Five Breasts.” But why did Isherwood decide to paint the sainted Mrs Whitehouse, who launched her own campaign to “get filth off the television.” The reason is simple. James Lawrence Isherwood hated anything which smaked of censorship. He - Click here to read more

It has taken two and a half years to produce. Now the book on the life of J Lawrence Isherwood has been launched. Steve Eckersley has never produced a book before. Now he is to be congratulated on his first work – which is the warts-and-all life story of Isherwood. Steve is an avid collector - Click here to read more

Lawrence Isherwood, the artist who has died aged 72, was driven by his muse to abandon a career as a cobbler. To begin with, he painted the woman of his native Wigan but he later found a more lucrative market with imaginary nude studies of such public figures as Barbara Castle, Field-Marshal Viscount Montgomery of - Click here to read more

  The famous Scarisbrick Hotel on Southport’s plush Lord Street played a vital role in the life of James Lawrence Isherwood. Wigan was certainly his first love, but Southport came a close second. His association with the Scarisbrick Hotel began when he met the hotel’s owner, Frank Carey. Along with his wife, Frank liked Isherwood’s - Click here to read more

  “That’s a bobby dazzler” said tanned David Dickinson of an Isherwood painting when his show “Dickinson’s Real Deal” came to Wigan. The afternoon TV show, watched by millions, invited Isherwood expert Geoffrey Shryhane to appear on the programme to talk about his memories of Jim Isherwood. And David concluded that the three paintings show  were - Click here to read more

  Jim Isherwood was first admitted to Billinge Hospital on Friday 2nd August 1974, to “dry out” and before he left his home on Wigan Lane to start treatment, he downed half a tumbler of whisky and several tablets. “I’m ready” he said. So began a seven months’ stay in Billinge, where, without the booze, he - Click here to read more

  It was a Friday. A sunny Friday when Isherwood – flamboyant, eccentric, wild and sad – went on his final journey. Everyone in Wigan knew the Isherwood family and James Lawrence Isherwood. Jim was the artist who, during his lifetime, captured the headlines. On that summer Friday, he would be awarded one more – - Click here to read more

Isherwood’s greatest hero was his fellow painter L S Lowry. He made it his business to find out where Lowry was appearing and then appeared in the audience. Jim Isherwood was as pleased as punch when he discovered that one of his oil paintings – Minnie Small with Black Cat – had been bought by - Click here to read more

  A quality painting of Brighton Pavilion by Isherwood has been sold in auction for £4,000. The work of art went through Hall’s Auction Rooms in Shropshire on 24th March 2010 – and was considered to be in the top range of Isherwood’s work. As collectors appreciate, Isherwood’s work varies in quality – and his best works - Click here to read more

Following the death of his mother, Jim Isherwood spent some Christmas days alone. One diary entry reads: “Got up at 3. Fed the birds. Painted 11 pictures.” At times like this, he wallowed in his own sad company. But not all festive days were lonely as Molly Isherwood, his sister-in-law testifies. She remembers: “When his - Click here to read more

  Isherwood works had been increasing in value since his death. But no-one could have predicted a happening in a Chester auction house in the summer of 2007. On 13th of June, a number of paintings by the artist were auctioned and interest was high but few could have known that one of the Isherwood’s - Click here to read more

  As the decade ended, Molly Isherwood discovered among a long-forgotten box of papers a major article on her artist brother-in-law carried in the Independent on Sunday magazine. It was written by Simon Spence. We are grateful to have received permission to reproduce this article by Simon Spence and the Independent on Sunday. To his - Click here to read more

Isherwood was proud of his great painting signed in a limited edition by Gracie Fields. And he told the story to anyone who would listen that he once met her at the stage door of Wigan’s Hippodrome Theatre. It must have been in the late 40s or early 50s as the place burned down in - Click here to read more

Throughout his life Isherwood courted publicity. Nothing pleased him more than seeing his photograph staring out of some newspaper or other. In dawned on him in the early days of his career that the papers were not interested in him – “local artists” were two a penny. If they wanted to have news of their - Click here to read more

 Wigan journalist Geoffrey Shryhane was Isherwood’s agent for a few months in 1973 and 1974. Here he tells of the trials and tribulations of a friendship with “Ishy.” I first met Isherwood in the early 60s, soon after I began as a young reporter on the Observer. With my colleague Allan Rimmer, we bumped into - Click here to read more

A Blast From My Distant Past   The year was 1960, I had just left school with my “O”Levels and landed a job at the local freelance news firm, McConnell News Service, in Addison Chambers, Walgate, Wigan. At sixteen years old, I was the junior photographer. In my first week I arrived at work a - Click here to read more

  Isherwood loved painting clowns and once said: “I think I’m a bit of a clown myself, creating these pictures nobody seems to want.” It’s true. Throughout his painting life, Jim Isherwood found difficulty in selling his works of art. He had a handful of people willing to buy, but they did it out of - Click here to read more

  Elsewhere on this artbyisherwood website is the story of how the artist accidentally started a fire at his home in 1983. Hundreds of works of art were damaged and many totally destroyed. Two years after his death, the new owner of 151 Wigan Lane found paintings in the long grass at the end of - Click here to read more

 Interestingly Isherwood wasn’t too shy of the film cameras as I’m sure you’ve already read in the feature Isherwood. The Lost Film  sadly this archive film footage was lost years ago. However… Art By Isherwood is proud to have been given access to some very rare film and audio material that captures Isherwood with his family and - Click here to read more

  Once again the fire-damaged paintings are making an appearance but this time with a new and very disturbing twist. The picture shown here has been deliberately and materially altered from the original. The fire-damaged picture at auction had severe damage to the right hand side and cutting away this damage would have removed the original Isherwood - Click here to read more

  It was the society event of the season when two sisters married two brothers. The brothers were James Lawrence Isherwood and Gordon Leyland Isherwood. The family was well-known in shoe business. The girls were Mary Banks and Florence Banks, whose family was, and still is, in the funeral undertaking business. The Isherwood and Banks - Click here to read more

The following transcript is of a letter Isherwood sent to his friends Molly and Keith Routledge, below this is a copy of the actual letter in Isherwood’s hand. It gives an insight into just how Isherwood was feeling at that time.                                                                                                                                                                                     151 W L (Wigan Lane)                                                                                                                                                                                      28.12.72 Dear Molly and Keith Thanks much - Click here to read more

When not painting in oil or creating water colours, Isherwood sketched. Any scrap of paper would do – or the back of an envelope or on his cigarette packet. The need to capture life in a few deft strokes was obsessive. Often the sketches would be filed away to be used in the creation of - Click here to read more