Matchstick men stand tall as L S Lowry painting sells for $263,600
British artist L S Lowry was most famous for his depictions of industrial cities, and was not recognised as a significant artist until relatively late in his career.

His reputation has only grown over the years, however, and is now a much collected and exhibited artist.

A few months back, his work The Football Match made a $9.1m world record for his work, and in 2009 the £4.6m ($7.35m) collection of Richard Attenborough and his wife was led by Lowry's Old Houses which brought £881,000 ($1.4m).

Yesterday (September 8), four lesser known works by Lowry went under the hammer. They had been in the possession of a Harrogate couple until their deaths, so naturally Morphets of Harrogate were chosen to make the sale.

The 1965 work Group of People went under the hammer for £64,000, whilst Man with a Cart, which was painted in 1963, sold for £55,000.

Family Group at the Seaside, a pencil sketch of downbeat children surrounding a long-haired man smoking a cigarette, raised £34,000.

L S Lowry Man posting a letter
L S Lowry's Man Posting a Letter delivered £165,000

But the top lot, which the couple bought from Lowry himself in 1967, was Man Posting a Letter. The straightforward work sold for an impressive £165,000 ($263,600).

All four works went to anonymous private bidders. Two works by Helen Bradley, who was influenced by Lowry, also went under the hammer. They had also been owned by the same couple and sold for £68,000.

It's always difficult to be certain which artists' works are going to be really valuable. Collectors might consider the works of Josie McCoy and Dan McDermot as possibilities.

 

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