Paintings by LS Lowry that celebrate people swarming together in ways that look alien in the current climate are to go on sale at auction.
Christie’s has announced its first standalone Lowry sale with a lineup including what is thought to be his only rugby painting, showing a sea of fans spilling out of a stadium after a Rochdale Hornets match.
Other works include a packed queue of people outside a fish and chip shop called The Elite, and a crowded beach scene, possibly a depiction of Spittal Beach in Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Rachel Hidderley, a senior director in Christie’s modern British art department, said there was something about seeing “people who can swarm together as much as they like with no restrictions,” although there are also works in the sale of single figures.
The sale has been titled “People Watching” and includes 19 works with 11 from the same private collection.
Hidderley said Lowry remained a hugely popular artist and one people could easily relate to. “Visually he is unique; when you see a Lowry, you know you are looking at a Lowry and that makes him very accessible to people.
“You don’t feel you have to know a lot about him to appreciate what’s going on, you can immediately stand in front of these paintings and start telling yourself your own stories.”
Christie’s said the sale would be led by three paintings with an estimate of £500,000-800,000 each: the rugby league painting, titled Coming from the Match (1959); an industrial panorama named Iron Works (1941) and The Elite Fish and Chip Shop (1949).
The aim had been to create a sale that showed different sides of Lowry, Hidderley said. For example, Man Searching in a Dustbin (1960) with an estimate of £80,000-120,000. “It is classic, quirky Lowry,” she said. “Who else would paint that? What’s the man doing in that dustbin? It is comical but it is such a strong narrative and you can bring into it what you like.”
It was once owned by one of Lowry’s most enthusiastic patrons, the Southport businessman Monty Bloom, who preferred Lowry’s figure studies to the industrial landscapes.
Like all sales at the moment, the auction be carried out online. A selection will be available to view at Christie’s website from Thursday and bidding opens on 15 June before sale day on 2 July.
