Chapel Street And Blackfriars, 2001

Liam Spencer 1964

Summary

A long, narrow painting, offering a panoramic cityscape of Salford at the junction of Chapel Street, which extends off the far left, and Blackfriars Road, which extends off to the extreme right. The buildings are principally in shades of orange and brick red, and the tarmacked roads shine as if wet after heavy rain. The paint has a blurred, impressionist quality. The Sacred Trinity church in Salford (built in 1635) is a visible landmark on the left, with the Black Lion pub on the extreme left and right ends of the picture. This pub is the point of observation: the straight line of the painting takes in a 360° view. Towards the middle of the painting the red arched alcoves below the railway appear to be in use as shops or industrial units. Above them runs the cream-coloured metal wall of the railway line. Further right there are billboards and advertisments, returning to the other side of the Black Lion pub on the extreme right, where the lion motif is visible in black. Cars and pedestrians can be seen within the view. This is an everyday scene of the junction complete with traffic cones and other signs indicating busy city life. The sky above the city is blue with patches of white cloud.

Display Label

Manchester. What's your view? Is the horizon line the only constant in this small town turned second city? Artists have responded to Manchester painting the city's rapidly changing views; from rural beginnings, to industrialisation and expansion, through decline and then regeneration. Prospects, people, buildings, spaces all change, a continuing process. Vibrant, chaotic, modern, historic ... See this city.