Rare and highly sought-after works by the renowned British artist L.S. Lowry are set to command millions of pounds at an upcoming auction in London. The Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale at Christie’s on October 22 will showcase a selection of Lowry’s paintings from esteemed private collections, offering collectors a rare chance to acquire pieces reflecting some of his most significant themes and less common subjects.

Among the highlights is the 1928 work Going To The Match, valued at between £2 million and £3 million, which is particularly notable as the earliest sporting painting by Lowry. This piece depicts fans gathering for a rugby match and is one of only two paintings in which Lowry focused on rugby as a subject. Previously, a 1953 painting of the same title, capturing football supporters heading to Burnden Park in Bolton, set a world auction record for the artist when it sold at Christie’s in 2022 for nearly £8 million, with the work now held by The Lowry museum in Salford, dedicated to preserving his legacy.

Nick Orchard, head of modern British and Irish art at Christie’s, highlighted the significance of these sporting scenes in Lowry’s oeuvre. He said, “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.”

Also coming under the hammer is Industrial Landscape, a 1957 painting expected to fetch between £250,000 and £350,000, which represents Lowry’s characteristic depiction of industrial settings. Another notable work, Bourton-On-The-Water from 1947, offers a departure from his usual northern industrial scenes by capturing a Cotswolds village. Orchard described this group of Cotswolds paintings as “a very small and rare group, and arguably Bourton-On-The-Water is the most successful of them all.” The Lowry museum has even expressed interest in having the piece on loan if the buyer is willing, as it would represent the artist’s time in the Cotswolds within the museum’s collection.

Adding further rarity to the sale is A Footbridge, painted in 1938, produced during a period when Lowry’s output was limited due to family obligations, notably caring for his bedridden mother who suffered from neurosis and depression. This contributes to the work’s status as a rare example from that decade.

The attention surrounding Lowry’s works has been heightened by recent high-profile sales. In March 2024, another Lowry painting, Sunday Afternoon (1957), sold for £6.29 million at Christie’s, exceeding its estimate, despite not having been publicly exhibited for 57 years. This sale marked the second highest price achieved at auction for the artist, following the record-breaking sale of Going To The Match (1953).

Lowry’s appeal endures strongly in the art market, with auction houses and collectors alike recognising the cultural and historical significance of his works. Complementing the Christie’s auction, other sales featuring Lowry’s art, such as an upcoming event by Mitchell’s Antiques & Fine Art, underline ongoing demand. Mitchell’s will offer pieces including a valuable Cumbrian coastal scene reminiscent of Lowry’s landscapes, further illustrating the broad interest in his work.

Overall, the upcoming Christie’s sale represents a pivotal moment for collectors to access some of Lowry’s rarest and most emblematic works, reaffirming his lasting influence as one of Britain’s iconic modern painters.

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Source: Noah Wire Services