Rare pieces of artwork by LS Lowry are expected to sell for millions of pounds when they go on sale later this month – and one of his most renowned pieces could find a temporary home in Salford.
The Lowry Theatre has issued a request to exhibit one of the artist’s most acclaimed pieces, his 1947 painting Bourton-On-The-Water, which has been valued between £400,000 and £600,000.
The works on offer at The Modern British And Irish Art Evening Sale at Christie’s London include: 1928’s Going To The Match, valued between £2 million and £3 million; Industrial Landscape, finished in 1957 and valued between £250,000 and £350,000; and 1938’s A Footbridge – valued at between £400,000 and £600,000.
The auction at Christie’s London will see several works from private collections go on sale on October 22.
The auction’s most valuable work, Going To The Match, is the earliest sporting painting ever realised by Lowry and is one of only two works he ever devoted to rugby.
A 1953 work of the same name set the world auction record for the artist at Christie’s London in 2022, achieving almost £8 million as it was acquired by The Lowry and is currently displayed in the theatre’s gallery.
Nick Orchard, head of modern British and Irish art at Christie’s, said: “We are delighted to be offering these paintings by LS Lowry, each coming from distinguished private collections.
“Together, they reflect some of Lowry’s most important themes, as well as rare subjects, and the chance to see them side by side is a special opportunity.”
Orchard added: “Lowry, who was a great observer of human life, and a lover of sport, found great inspiration in the crowds that would mass to sporting events, particularly football, rugby and cricket.
“Although he also recorded the workers going to and from the factories and mills, in the sporting paintings, which are much rarer, he was able to capture the people of Manchester at rest, enjoying going to follow and cheer on their local teams.”
Bourton-On-The-Water is one of the few paintings of the Cotswolds by Lowry and is considered one of his most successful works of its type.
Orchard said: “These Cotswolds paintings are a very small and rare group, and arguably Bourton-On-The-Water is the most successful of them all.
“The Lowry in Salford has made a request that if the buyer is so inclined, they would be delighted to have Bourton-on-the-Water on loan, as it would be the only painting to represent his time in the Cotswolds on display in their museum.”
Lowry produced less work during the 1930s due to the death of his father and caring for his bedridden mother, who was prone to neurosis and depression, making A Footbridge a rare work.
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