Lowry cricket painting fetches £1.2 million at auction
An LS Lowry painting of a backstreet cricket match in Salford has fetched £1.2 million at auction.
Lowry’s A Cricket Match was one of only a handful of occasions when the artist turned his hand to depicting the sport as he gave centre stage to children as both enthusiastic players and spectators.
#AuctionUpdate Howzat! L.S. Lowry's charming cricket match from 1938 bowls over the saleroom to bring £1,155,000#SothebysModBrit#Lowry#CricketWorldCup2019pic.twitter.com/o8rJsS5BjQ
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) June 18, 2019
The sum paid for the 1938 piece of work quadrupled the price it made – £280,000 – when it was sold at its auction debut in June 1996, also at Sotheby’s.
Last month, the painting was unveiled to the public in a five-day view at The Lowry near to Old Trafford Cricket Ground, which is one of the venues for the ongoing World Cup tournament.