Harry Rutherford (British 1903-1985)

Top O'th Botttoms, Mossley, Manchester
signed 'Rutherford' (lower right)
oil on canvas
49 x 59cm

Described by his teacher and lifelong friend, Walter Sickert, as “my intellectual heir and successor”, Harry Rutherford has been praised for his prodigious ability to capture the rapidly changing cultural and physical landscape of a post-industrial Northern England.

A contemporary of L.S. Lowry and one of the most significant members of the 'Northern School', Rutherford also hosted children’s television show, Sketchbook, and made appearances on Cabaret Cartoons, in which he drew artists as they performed their acts.

Condition Report

Oil on canvas which is unlined and attached to a wooden stretcher. The canvas tension is slightly slack. There are general undulations across the painting some of which are causing the paint layer to lift. There is an areas of paint loss in the house at the centre of the composition. There appears to be a thin layer of locally applied varnish and the painting has a semi-matte finish with a layer of surface dirt present. The frame has some stains at the corners and a few losses but is generally in a good condition.