Lowry Art Gallery has bought the iconic 1953 LS Lowry painting 'Going to the Match' for £6.6 million. The artwork has been on public display since the gallery opened in 2000 but was not owned by the venue.
At the Modern British and Irish Art Sale at Christie's, in London, this evening (October 19) Lowry Art Gallery was the highest bidder for the painting, which depicts football fans on their way to Bolton Wanderers' then ground Burnden Park. It was previously owned by the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) and loaned to The Lowry but the PFA recently announced that it would be auctioned off.
In recent weeks, Salford's Mayor Paul Dennett had launched a campaign to keep the piece in the city and he expressed his delight at The Lowry winning the auction. “ LS Lowry, Salford’s greatest and most iconic artist, made his name depicting working-class life – as such we emphatically believed Going to the Match should remain on public view free to access where everyone can see it," he said.
"I am delighted our campaign to save this critical and important painting has successfully resulted in The Lowry securing it tonight, for the city of Salford in perpetuity for generations to come, for residents and visitors to our great City."
Chief executive of the Lowry, Julia Fawcett OBE, thanked the Law Family Charitable Foundation for helping them to buy the historic piece-of-art. “We firmly believe that this iconic artwork must remain on public view, so it can continue to be seen by the broadest possible audiences, for free," she added.
"This evening, thanks to an incredibly generous gift from The Law Family Charitable Foundation, we are delighted to have purchased the painting for the city’s collection of LS Lowry works. We look forward to bringing it home to Salford, where it can continue to delight and attract visitors to the Andrew and Zoë Law galleries at The Lowry. A great deal of work has been needed to make this intervention possible – I’d like to thank Andrew and Zoë Law, our Chair Sir Rod Aldridge, Salford’s City Mayor Paul Dennett and our Trustees for all of their support”
Andrew Law said: “Zoë and I are delighted to have facilitated The Lowry’s purchase of Going to the Match. This LS Lowry painting belongs in Salford on public view, close to his birthplace, where he was educated and where he lived. Place matters. LS Lowry’s depiction of people attending a football match is just one of his many incredible genres of work, but it is undoubtedly his most iconic.”
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