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| LS Lowry's Going To The Match sells for £6.6m at auction | LS Lowry's Going To The Match sells for £6.6m at auction |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Going to the Match went under the hammer on Wednesday evening | Going to the Match went under the hammer on Wednesday evening |
| An LS Lowry painting described as an "iconic masterpiece" has been sold at auction for a record-breaking £6.6 million. | An LS Lowry painting described as an "iconic masterpiece" has been sold at auction for a record-breaking £6.6 million. |
| Going To The Match depicts a bustling throng of people gathered at Burnden Park football stadium, former home of Bolton Wanderers. | Going To The Match depicts a bustling throng of people gathered at Burnden Park football stadium, former home of Bolton Wanderers. |
| The 1953 piece had been loaned to The Lowry arts centre in Salford by the Players Foundation. | |
| But the foundation said the financial crisis meant it had to sell the piece. | But the foundation said the financial crisis meant it had to sell the piece. |
| It was among a series of paintings that went under the hammer at Christie's modern British and Irish art evening sale earlier. | It was among a series of paintings that went under the hammer at Christie's modern British and Irish art evening sale earlier. |
| The buyer has been confirmed as The Lowry arts centre. | |
| The sale was a record for a Lowry | |
| The sale of the artwork was previously the subject of controversy, with the Mayor of Salford Paul Dennett insisting the new owner of the painting must keep it "free to access". | |
| Lowry chief executive Julia Fawcett said the purchase was made possible "thanks to an incredibly generous gift from The Law Family Charitable Foundation". | |
| She added: "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." | |
| Mr Dennett, who wrote to prominent local figures and business leaders asking for help to buy the work, said at the time: "The cost-of-living crisis has really highlighted how difficult things are that many people might take for granted these days. | |
| "So being able to go to an art gallery free of charge is going to become all the more important." | |
| Lowry, who died in 1976, won first prize at an exhibition for Going To The Match | |
| The total sum is a new record price for a work by Lowry sold at auction. | The total sum is a new record price for a work by Lowry sold at auction. |
| Lowry, who died in 1976, spent much of his life in Salford and his work is strongly associated with the city. | |
| Going To The Match is one of several football subjects painted by Lowry, who was always keenly interested in sport. | |
| Many of the pictures have either direct or imaginary links with Burnden Park, the then-home of Bolton Wanderers, which was only a few miles from where the artist lived. | |
| It won Lowry first prize in a 1953 exhibition, which was sponsored by The Football Association, and was last auctioned in 1999, when it was acquired by the charity for about £2m. | |
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