L S Lowry

Currently the joint most expensive painting by the artist at auction, The Football Match combines Lowry’s favourite artistic subject and his personal passion – the industrial landscape and football. Lowry was a supporter of Manchester City football club and brought his experiences of home games into this work, which depicts excited crowds at a Saturday afternoon football game.

When The Football Match was offered in Christie’s 20th Century British & Irish Art auction in London on 26 May 2011, the painting had not been seen in public for almost 20 years. It soared above its high estimate of £4.5 million and broke the previous record for a work by Lowry, set by Good Friday, Daisy Nook in 2007.

At a joint-first place for the most expensive Lowry painting at auction is Piccadilly Circus, which also achieved £5.6 million when it was offered at Christie’s 20th Century British & Irish Art Evening Sale in London on 16 November 2011 – nearly half a year after the sale of The Football Match. The painting had come to auction for the first time, after being hidden in the same private collection for 35 years. It was offered for auction again at Sotheby’s in London on 25 March 2014, where it sold for a slightly lower £5.1 million.

Lowry rarely painted London scenes and Piccadilly Circus is one of only two works to depict the landmark. The painting was formerly owned by entrepreneur Lord Forte and then A.J. Thompson, an esteemed collector who only bought works by Lowry.

Painted in 1956, A Northern Race Meeting depicts a crowd of people enjoying a day out at the racetrack. Although Lowry often depicted football matches, he seldom painted horse-racing – making this a rare work in the artist’s career. The painting was purchased shortly after it was created and had been on long-term loan to Graves Art Gallery in Sheffield since 1983.

When A Northern Race Meeting was offered at Christie’s in London on 19 November 2018, it was the star lot of the evening, achieving more than double its high estimate of £5.2 million.