Oldham: Lowry painting and portrait of MP listed for auction

Hervey Rhodes, later Lord Rhodes of Saddleworth, was a British politician and MP for Ashton-under-Lyne between 1945 and 1964.

Before serving in his important role as minister at the Board of Trade in Atlee's government, Rhodes was born to a mill-working family and had left school at the age of 12 to begin work as a 'piecer', which involved dodging under working looms to repair threads.

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Then at the outbreak of World War One, he signed up as a private and fought at Loos through the Somme campaign. 

After becoming severely wounded in September 1918, he fell into hospital care.

However, he made a miraculous recovery in February 1921 and was discharged as "80 per cent disabled".

Rhodes returned home but was unable to find employment, instead rescuing looms from a dump which he used to set up his own woollen manufacturing business. 

Later as a politician, he was very active in promoting trade, especially textiles, and was passionate about improving working conditions, arts in the community, prison and remand reform, science and technology and building relationships with post-war Europe and Japan.

He gained notoriety as the "Queen's favourite Yorkshireman" and was made a Knight of the Garter in 1972.

When Rhodes died in 1987, his daughter, Helen Sutcliffe, returned the garter insignia to Queen Elizabeth II.

The Queen's private secretary reportedly told Helen: "Your father was the only man who could ring up Buckingham Palace, ask if the Queen was free that afternoon and she would agree to see him."

Rhodes Foundation Scholarship Trust, a charitable trust, was also established in 1989 to commemorate Lord Rhodes' work as he "was tireless in his support for the work of the Probation Service in the north west of England".

The Foundation also posted a tribute to the late Hon Helen Sutcliffe in May last year, after she passed away, at the age of 93.

When her father died, the Foundation said Helen "not only immediately agreed to the idea of a Scholarship Trust for probation officers in her father’s honour" but took up the role as Patron "with enthusiasm" where she interviewed applicants at the Ann and Hervey Rhodes Day Centre in Oldham.

Lord Rhodes sat 50 times for the painting (Image: Bonhams)

Now, a portrait of Lord Rhodes has come to auction with an opening price of £4,000.

The portrait was painted by British artist, Sir William Coldstream, between July 1957 and August 1967.

Rhodes had to sit for the portrait 50 times over the course of the decade, making it one of the longest execution durations of any of Coldstream's portraits.

Also available for auction is a Laurence Stephen Lowry painting, "Children Walking", signed by L.S. Lowry in 1951.

The work was gifted to Helen in her youth when she visited the studio, accompanied by her father.

Rhodes was both Lowry's local MP and an important patron for the artist.

The listing details how the MP became the first owner of Lowry's celebrated "Going to the Match" (1953) painting and several other oils, including "A Political Meeting" (1953) which depicts Rhodes in action.

In 1983, the MP recalled a particularly entertaining L.S. Lowry tale.

He wrote: "I was approached by Lord Harry Walston one day in the House of Lords who asked me if I ever saw L.S. Lowry, the artist.

"He said that he and a few of his friends would like to approach him to see if he would accept an honour.

"I told him he lived at Mottram only about five miles from my home and I would go round to find out, if he thought it was a good idea. He said it was.

"I had two other matters to see Lowry about myself. One was an idea I had for a large bowl to be painted by him which would be a permanent feature of the archives belonging to the Saddleworth Festival of Arts."

He added: "Another thing I wanted to ask Lowry about was the impending visit of the Queen to Manchester, which I had arranged.

"It was the desire of many councillors, aldermen and officials that Lowry should be present and they had asked me to persuade him to come to the Town Hall when she came."

The MP had a close bond with L.S. Lowry (Image: Bonhams)

The MP said he visited Lowry's house in Mottram, describing it as a "small gaunt-looking detached house as black as any mill he had painted" with "window frames nearly gone with rot" while the path up to the door "nearly had you on your back".

He said: "I rang the front doorbell and before long I heard the removal of the most elaborate set of safety precautions – bolts, chains and locks.

"He opened the door and soon I was sitting with him while he ate his breakfast which he had prepared himself.

"He sat at a table which was piled up with books, papers and sketches, with just one small space in a corner of it cleared for his egg and bacon."

Lord Rhodes presented whether Lowry would accept an honour to which the artist revealed he had refused an MBE, CBE and Knighthood in the past but that "the idea of CH was most interesting".

Lord Rhoes wrote: "I thought the idea was becoming acceptable to him so I asked if I could tell the peers that he was prepared to let his name go forward.

"Very quickly he said: 'Oh no, I couldn't do that, I don't want one'.

"So I then told him my idea about the bowl. He was very thrilled with the idea and said he had always wanted to paint a bowl.

"He thought it was an absolutely splendid idea but when I came to the point he didn't want to know. He said he had stopped painting altogether.

"Thinking it might be third time lucky, I mentioned the forthcoming visit of the Queen and told him of the request that he should be at the Town Hall.

"Again it was, 'how interesting, how kind, how nice of them'.

"But when I asked if I could go ahead with the arrangements I got the same reply, 'Oh no, I don't want to come, I don't want to meet anyone like that. Oh no!"

The Lowry painting has come to auction with an opening price of £60,000.

Both lots have been brought via Bonhams and can be viewed on The Saleroom here (https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/bonhams/catalogue-id-bonham11049/lot-f42c684d-d744-4475-9f1d-b18701110c07) and here (https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/bonhams/catalogue-id-bonham11049/lot-14b76d7e-5ba2-43e8-bbe7-b18701110c07)

Got a story? Email me Olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk