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Council Lowry auctioned for £1.4m | Council Lowry auctioned for £1.4m |
(9 minutes later) | |
A painting by LS Lowry which was auctioned by a council to help balance its books has sold for more than £1.4m. | A painting by LS Lowry which was auctioned by a council to help balance its books has sold for more than £1.4m. |
A Riverbank, owned by Bury Council in Greater Manchester, sold for more than twice the expected price when it went under the hammer at Christie's. | |
The work - depicting the River Irwell - cost £175 in 1951 and was expected to fetch between £500,000 and £800,000. | |
The decision to sell the painting has sparked claims the council was "selling off the family silver". | |
A spokeswoman for Christie's said the buyer's price was £1,408,000 at auction on Friday, which includes commission. | A spokeswoman for Christie's said the buyer's price was £1,408,000 at auction on Friday, which includes commission. |
Record sale | |
The actual price was £1.25m, the second highest price paid for a painting by the world-famous Salford artist at auction. | |
The most expensive is a work called Going To The Match, which was bought for £1,926,500 by the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) at Sotheby's auction house in 1999. | |
The Museums Association had described the sale of A Riverbank as "deeply irresponsible" and said the council faced expulsion from the Museums Association. | |
But the authority is facing an estimated £10m budget shortfall and said the sale was essential to fund its core services. | But the authority is facing an estimated £10m budget shortfall and said the sale was essential to fund its core services. |
Matchstick men | |
The authority, which displayed the painting at Bury Museum and Art Gallery, said it was putting its people before a picture. | The authority, which displayed the painting at Bury Museum and Art Gallery, said it was putting its people before a picture. |
Christie's sold the painting as part of a sale of 20th Century British art. Other Lowry works up for auction included The Empty House and The Local Store. | |
LS Lowry is most famous for his matchstick men and industrial landscapes, based largely on Manchester and Salford. | LS Lowry is most famous for his matchstick men and industrial landscapes, based largely on Manchester and Salford. |
His painting of Liverpool's famous Liver Building waterfront was sold for more than £1m at auction in June. | His painting of Liverpool's famous Liver Building waterfront was sold for more than £1m at auction in June. |