L.S. Lowry’s “Going To The Match”, one of the most iconic paintings of 20th century British art, sold at auction Wednesday for a record-breaking £7.85 million ($8.81 million).
The 1953 artwork features Lowry’s emblematic stick figures set in an industrial landscape of northwest England — in this case, a crowd of people heading to a football match in Bolton.
The sale by Christie’s in London broke the record for a work by Lowry, who died in 1976.
Without fees, the price came to £6.6 million for its seller, the charitable foundation of the Professional Footballers’ Association.
There was no immediate word on the buyer, after calls for the painting to remain in Britain and accessible to the public in a gallery.
The Lowry gallery in Manchester had said it was unable to buy the painting.
