James Lawrence Isherwood was born in Wigan, England in 1917. Isherwood was a prolific 20th Century impressionsist/expressionist painter and is known for his Wigan Style and Wigan figure paintings. These together with his London and Wigan street scenes, are his most sought after works.

Isherwood was a friend of the artist LS Lowry, who purchased his Woman with Black Cat and displayed it at his home. Other known collectors include Prince Charles, who bought one of Isherwood's seascapes from a sale held at Cambridge University.

Always short of money, Isherwood travelled the country in his old estate car, usually accompanied by his mother Lily. He liked to pitch up at art colleges and give impromptu tutorials, and usually paid for his hotel room with a painting. He also offered magistrates a painting in lieu of a fine when prosecuted for driving with no tax or insurance.