LS Lowry’s ‘Sunday Afternoon’ to go on display to public for first time in 57 years before being auctioned

An iconic work by Stretford-born artist LS Lowry is to go on public display for the first time in 57 years. ‘Sunday Afternoon’ was painted by the artist in 1957. 

The painting is to go on display at Christie’s in London from March 13 to 20. After this, it is set to be sold at auction. The auction house has estimated the painting will fetch in the region of £4-£6 million when it goes under the hammer. 

‘Sunday Afternoon’ has similar themes to other works of Lowry. He draws comparison between a peaceful walk in a park, with the looming industrial presence of factories in the background. 

Born in 1887, Laurence Stephen Lowry  created many different works over an illustrious career. Many of these were scenes in and around Greater Manchester of working life in the region.  ‘Sunday Afternoon’ was last sold at auction in 1967, during Lowry’s lifetime. Like in 2024, it also went to auction at Christie’s back then. 

‘Going to the Match’, a depiction of Bolton Wanderers football fans going to watch their club’ has been in the news recently. It is currently out on a tour of venues across the North West. 

Many of Lowry’s works show crowds of people going to or from a certain situation, whether that be a football game, a park, or the workplace. This was a lifelong battle for Lowry, who described it as ‘the battle of life’- something in his work that continues to capture audiences to this day. 

Philip Harley, Senior Director, Modern British and Irish Art, Christie’s: “Sunday Afternoon by L.S. Lowry will return to the public eye at Christie’s for the first time since it was last seen here 57 years ago. This important painting has remained in the Collection of Sir Keith and Lady Showering since 1967, offering a once-in-a-generation opportunity to acquire a work of this magnitude and scale. 

“The composition represents the wonder the artist felt as he recorded his many observations of the evolving society around him. We are thrilled to bring Sunday Afternoon back to auction in the Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale. We look forward to welcoming our clients and visitors alike to view the painting when it goes on free display in London on 13 March.”