Is this painting worth £7.8m? L.S. Lowry’s famous picture of crowds at a football match has been sold for an eye-watering sum. Some feel the money could have been better spent.
'I am not an artist. Just someone who paints'
Is this painting worth £7.8m? L.S. Lowry's famous picture of crowds at a football match has been sold for an eye-watering sum. Some feel the money could have been better spent.
Price match
As the auctioneer banged his gavelA small hammer used to hit the table to get people's attention. , art lovers and football fans breathed a sigh of relief. On Wednesday evening, LS LowryAn English artist known for his paintings showing 20th Century northern England. 's painting Going To The Match sold for £7.8m to a SalfordA city and area within Greater Manchester in northern England. museum named after the artist.1
Going To The Match has been called "the finest football painting ever", although Lowry only shows a tiny triangle of the pitch itself.
Painted in 1953, Lowry's picture shows fans rushing to a stadium before a football game. The sky is heavy with smogA kind of toxic fog caused by high levels of air pollution.. The mills, factories and gas works of Manchester lurk in the background.2
The painting was sold by a footfall charity in need of extra funds. Fans of the artist were worried that it would be bought by a private collector and removed from public view. But with the help of a donation, it was purchased by The Lowry and will remain in the museum.
Lowry himself would have been shocked by the price. For almost forty years, he worked as a rent collector by day and painted in the evening. When he died in 1988 he left an estateAll of the money and property owned by a person. valued at £298,459, far short of the prices his works now command.
Recently his paintings have shot up in value. In 2007, Good Friday, Daisy Nook (1946) sold for £3.8m. In 2011, The Football Match (1949) and Piccadilly Circus (1960) both went for £5.6m. Going To The Match has set a new record.
For many of Lowry's admirers, these prices reflect his art's greatness. Lowry was a one-off genius. His art is admired by millions of people. It offers a window into the past. And Going To The Match is one of his best works.
Others wonder if the money could be better spent elsewhere. In Britain, over 14.5 million people live in poverty. The cost of livingThe money that someone needs to afford basic food, housing and clothes. crisis is expected to make this sum bugger. During hard times, spending almost £8m on a single painting looks reckless.
Yes: Go to Salford. Look at Lowry's painting. See his brushstrokes, his figures, the world he creates. £7.8m was a price worth paying to keep the painting for public view.
No: In a tough economic climate, spending millions on a picture seems crazy. The painting may have been saved for the public. But will many of the public be able to afford to visit the picture?
Or... You cannot truly put a price on art. The art market tries to, in order to profit from the work of artists. But great art goes beyond daily concerns like money.
Is this painting worth £7.8m?
Keywords
Gavel - A small hammer used to hit the table to get people's attention.
LS Lowry - An English artist known for his paintings showing 20th Century northern England.
Salford - A city and area within Greater Manchester in northern England.
Smog - A kind of toxic fog caused by high levels of air pollution.
Estate - All of the money and property owned by a person.
Cost of living - The money that someone needs to afford basic food, housing and clothes.
‘I am not an artist. Just someone who paints’
Glossary
Gavel - A small hammer used to hit the table to get people's attention.
LS Lowry - An English artist known for his paintings showing 20th Century northern England.
Salford - A city and area within Greater Manchester in northern England.
Smog - A kind of toxic fog caused by high levels of air pollution.
Estate - All of the money and property owned by a person.
Cost of living - The money that someone needs to afford basic food, housing and clothes.