The Blog

  “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…

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 on…

  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…

  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…

  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…

  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…

  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…

  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 –…

  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…

  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…