Last Orders on Union Street – Sean Durkin
People make their way along Union Street past the pub and shopfronts, many with their heads lowered as if preoccupied with their own thoughts. A little dog threads through the figures below a clock-topped spire and smoking mill chimneys. On the right, a bright yellow Bile Beans sign catches the eye. It may bring York's iconic Bile Beans sign to mind, though this painting doesn't depict York. Sean Durkin balances that unexpected flash of humour with the quieter weight of an ordinary northern street.
Sean's connection to L.S. Lowry began with a remarkable morning in childhood. He woke to find a Lowry painting on the family mantelpiece, stolen from a Middlesbrough gallery by his father, John Durkin. John's ransom demands were as unexpected as the theft: better gallery security, Sunday opening so working people could enjoy the art, and the Mayor's underpants raffled for charity. The painting stayed with Sean long after it was returned, helping inspire his own affectionate, humorous portraits of northern life. Look closely for the burglar in his striped top and the policeman, recurring characters that carry a little of that family story into Sean's scenes.
Explore more of Sean's northern streets in The Heart of the Town, A Northern Saturday and Edna's Baps.
Edition Details
Published by C&D Fine Art. A limited edition art print by Sean Durkin.
Approximate Measurements
Measurements shown as width × height.
- Image size: approx. 34 × 42.5 cm
- Mounted size: approx. 49.5 × 60 cm
- Framed size: approx. 52 × 62 cm
Presentation Options
- Mounted – presented in an off-white double mount and supplied acetate wrapped.
- Framed – presented in the off-white double mount and a 3.8 cm-wide matt black oak frame, strung and ready to hang.
© The Artist
