As Lowry tired of industrial scenes his attention turned to other subjects. Increasingly his work focused on small groups of figures and individuals painted on a plain white ground with little or no architectural or landscape setting. He insisted that they were all based on real characters, often people he saw living on the streets, such as Man Lying on a Wall.

“People...refuse to believe me when I tell them I saw a man dressed just like that, doing just that, from the top of a bus... It was the umbrella propped against the wall which caught my eye and prompted the picture...The chap was well-dressed and obviously enjoying the smoke and his rest. I couldn't resist doing him as a subject', - said L.S. Lowry. He added his own initials on the man's briefcase.

Lowry thought that some of his late works were his best but they were challenging for audiences used to his mill scenes.