BERWICK-UPON-TWEED.- A rarely seen work by L.S Lowry has gone on display at The Storehouse, Berwick Barracks to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death (23 February 2026).

The pencil sketch, titled Spittal, Berwick (1960), depicts a boat and figures on the beach at Spittal, was acquired by The Maltings (Berwick) Trust earlier this year, to increase the number of original works by the artist held in the town.

It is being exhibited alongside two other Lowry works from Berwick’s town collection - Old Berwick (1936) and Beach Scene (1954) on loan from North East Museums on behalf of Northumberland County Council. It is the first time these works have been on public display since Berwick Museum and Art Gallery closed for redevelopment as part of The Living Barracks project over a year ago.

To coincide with the Storehouse exhibition, Northumberland-based sand artist Claire Eason will be creating a large artwork on Spittal Beach, the very location that so inspired Lowry. Under the title Soul2Sand, Claire will be using the beach as a blank, natural canvas on which to make an 80ft by 20ft image of Lowry working at his easel in his signature suit, trilby hat and spectacles.

Although he will be forever associated with his industrial paintings of Manchester and life in Lancashire towns, Lowry also had a deep affinity with the North East. He first came to Berwick-upon-Tweed around 1935 and became a regular visitor until his death in 1976, capturing the town’s streets and buildings along with views of the North Sea. In the late 1940s he considered moving to Berwick permanently and was particularly interested in The Lions House, a 19th-century house sitting high on the town’s Elizabethan walls, with views out over the sea, and which still stands today.

As a subject for art, the sea had fascinated Lowry from just 8 years old, and this appears to have evolved further after the death of his mother in 1939. He seemed to find an equally mysterious mood in the waves and winds of the Northumbrian coast, as he did in the smoke of Salford. He once declared: “I have been fond of the sea all my life, how wonderful it is, yet how terrible it is.”

Lowry produced over 20 works of Berwick, including paintings of the harbour and its pier, the beach at Spittal, salmon fishing on the River Tweed and the Town Hall. He included a work of Berwick in his first solo show in London at the renowned Reid and Lefevre Gallery in 1938.

James Lowther, Head of Visual Arts at the Maltings says: “The Maltings is delighted to have acquired this rarely seen sketch by Lowry of Spittal. Lowry had such a fondness for Berwick and the surrounding area and the purchase of this work, which will be displayed in the new gallery and museum at Berwick Barracks in the longer term, helps to build a collection for the town, that reflects truly reflects this.”

The artwork can be seen at The Storehouse at Berwick Barracks from 21 February to 22 March 2026.