The Fever Van
The Fever Van
Signed Print
L S Lowry
£2,400-£3,600Value Indicator
$4,950-$7,500 Value Indicator
$4,450-$6,500 Value Indicator
¥23,000-¥35,000 Value Indicator
€2,850-€4,300 Value Indicator
$25,000-$35,000 Value Indicator
¥470,000-¥700,000 Value Indicator
$3,150-$4,750 Value Indicator
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
There aren't enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.
Medium: Lithograph
Edition size: 700
Year: 1972
Size: H 42cm x W 52cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Location | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2025 | Rosebery's Fine Art Auctioneers | United Kingdom | |||
| February 2025 | Golding, Young & Mawer, The Lincoln Auction Rooms | United Kingdom | |||
| December 2024 | Forum Auctions London | United Kingdom | |||
| December 2024 | Bonhams Knightsbridge | United Kingdom | |||
| November 2024 | Bellmans, Sussex | United Kingdom | |||
| November 2024 | Martel Maides Auctions | Guernsey | |||
| October 2024 | Chiswick Auctions | United Kingdom |
Meaning & Analysis
“Accidents interest me - I have a very queer mind you know. What fascinates me is the people they attract. The patterns those people form, and the atmosphere of tension when something has happened… Where there’s a quarrel there’s always a crowd… It’s a great draw. A quarrel or a body.”
This is a quote by Lowry, who painted this picture of an ambulance in 1935. The word ‘fever’ in the title refers to either diphtheria or scarlet fever, both rife in the small terraced houses around the industrial zones of Manchester. Fever vans were the bleak nicknames for the ambulance cars transporting sick individuals to the hospital. Using his typical colour pallet of blacks, greys and reds, Lowry was a master of composing figures to convey meaning, from milling industrial workers to leaping footballers, he identified the poetic in the mundane formation of people’s gatherings. His inclusion of the mill chimney in the painting could perhaps be a suggestion to the root cause of the spreading of the disease, this being the crowded conditions workers of the mill live in.
The Fever Van had a strange postscript when it was pitched as a Christmas Card by Harold Wilson, Lowry said “No, I am very sorry but I would like you to realise that I don’t wish to have any political association and I’m not giving permission.”
Born in 1887, L. S. Lowry was a key figure in 20th century British painting. Known for his distinctive painterly style and 'matchstick men', Lowry aimed to put industry on the map by typically focusing on scenes from his hometown in the North West of England. The naivety of his art drew criticism, yet has stood the test of time with the artist becoming a household name. Lowry has consistently performed in the secondary market, with works such as Going To The Match achieving a value of £2,919,000 in 2021 and the editioned prints remaining highly sought after.
