Laurence Stephen Lowry RBA RA was an English artist. Many of his drawings and paintings depict Pendlebury, Lancashire, where he lived and worked for more than 40 years but in 1946 and 1947 he visited the Cotswolds. 

Lowry painted this icy scene on the right during a visit to Stow in 1947. He was apparently fascinated by the architecture of the houses and buildings, which he found a contrast with the northern industrial cityscapes more usually associated with his work. 

On the left is St. Edward’s Hall, and the building on the right is now Huffkins Tea Room. The tree has since disappeared. 

He wrote to his friend and fellow artist David Carr on 20th October 1946:

‘I declare I am forgetting to tell you how I got on in the Cotswolds. Had a very good weekend, there is plenty of material. The villages are certainly very quaint, the stone – the buildings are mostly of stone – is very warm.’ 

The painting was sold at auction in 2011 to an unknown bidder for £481,000. 

On this page are other sketches he did whilst in Stow.