Find out why a Wigan bar chain boss is preparing to part company with his big collection of Isherwood paintings

Local pub and club chain boss Tony Callaghan says that it’s time for other people to enjoy them, especially as many that he own are simply kept in secure storage for lack of space these days.

A friend of LS Lowry, James Lawrence Isherwood painted landscapes, seascapes, and portraits, often using his home town as a backdrop, in a style that became known as “Wigan style” and it is one that has been described by experts as impressionist-expressionist.

Since his death at the age of 72 in 1989, Isherwood’s stock has continued to rise impressively and individual works these days change hands for thousands of pounds.

The artist used to frequent the fish and chip shop on Earl Street, Swinley, run by Mr Callaghan’s parents and appeared to be forever hard up, offering paintings instead of cash for his supper.

Fred Callaghan had a soft spot for the eccentric Isherwood, who would sweep into the takeaway with his big beard and swirling cape, terrifying the young Tony.

And so he let him first paint a mural in the cellar, where the fish was filleted and chips peeled, and later another on the back wall of the shop itself, Tony thinking it might have been of Coronation Street characters, although these memories are dim and he is happy to stand corrected.

Whether these murals were to become priceless works of art is immaterial now because Fred later painted over them, professing not to like them.

But Callaghan Jnr’s interest in the artist had already been piqued.

He said: “At first I was a bit scared of him. I saw him as this big, bearded, eccentric alcoholic in a cape who lived next to the Bellingham Hotel, but as I grew older I got to know him and began to realise that he was a very good artist.

"By my late 20s I knew that Isherwood was coming up and getting somewhere. And my ears pricked up particularly when I heard that the then Prince of Wales – now The King – had bought one of his paintings.

"’If Charlie likes them, then Tony likes them too,’ I thought. But in fact I do like his work in any case: it’s exciting and different. I have particular favourites too.”

And so the young Mr Callaghan started buying up Isherwood paintings wherever he could find them, including at car boot sales and from people who had owned them and then decided they weren’t so keen after all and were looking to get rid.

He would later befriend the artist’s sister-in-law, the late Molly Isherwood, and it was from her whom he bought the largest part of his collection which numbers around 160 works.

As the collection grew, Mr Callaghan was keen that the paintings were seen by people and so he had many of them put on display in his bar Fifteens and later Little Fifteens, where they could be seen not only on the walls but fixed all over the ceiling!

But after having the collection valued, he was told he could not get them insured unless he took them down and put them somewhere safer. So Mr Callaghan duly obliged but made copies of them all to replace them in the pub.

So why does he want to part with these pieces now?

Mr Callaghan said: “I’m not 21 anymore and I’ve had a couple of health scares and I want these paintings to go to a good home where, preferably, the public can see and enjoy them. If I suddenly popped my clogs, the kids would probably take them to a jumble sale!

"It’s not like I need to sell them though: this isn’t a fire sale.

"I did contact Wigan Council and offered to let them put the pictures on permanent display at somewhere like Wigan Library, but nothing came of it.”

He said that he might hang on to a few favourites but was in no rush if someone wanted him to loan them all out for an exhibition.

Neither would he mind if the collection was broken up and pieces sold individually, just so long as they were appreciated.

But he did say he would prefer them to be put on show rather than kept as assets and stored away in a place where they couldn’t be viewed. Even better, have at least some of them in the Wigan area still.

It had been planned to give over part of the newly restored Haigh Hall to works by another Wigan artist, Theodore Major, but that fell through, so might some Isherwoods go in there instead?

Mr Callaghan said: “If someone comes up with an idea to show them somewhere then I will happily put off my sale for a few years. There isn’t any hurry as far as I am concerned.

"People know where I am if they want to get in touch with any ideas or want to make me an offer.

"Certain pictures will mean special things to certain people, whether they be pictures of Wigan, Malta or Aintree.

"I would be sad to see them go – just as I am sad when I sell a pub – but I would be happy if they go to a good home.”

He said that he had already been approached by a couple of contacts in the Isle of Man who were interested in buying the lot but nothing had been signed or sealed.