Lowry's Piccadilly Circus sells for £5.6m at Christie's

The painting dating back to 1960 is one of very few London scenes captured by the Salford artist

A painting of Piccadilly Circus by LS Lowry has sold at auction for £5.6m, matching the world record price for the artist.

The 1960 painting, which is one of two Lowry works of the London landmark, sold at Christie's to a private buyer.

It was among 14 works by the Salford painter being auctioned from the Lord Forte Collection.

The price was the same as the record-breaking fee paid for The Football Match, which was sold in May.

The collection as a whole fetched £17,668,250, which far exceeded the pre-sale estimate, Christie's said.

An exhibition of 38 paintings and drawings by Lowry opens next Wednesday at art dealer Richard Green's gallery in Mayfair.

Mr Green said: "To sell 14 paintings in one sale shows the breadth of his appeal. A painting by him is more expensive at auction than any Henry Moore sculpture or Damien Hirst painting."

Christie's head of 20th Century British and Irish Art Philip Harley said 2011 marked an "unprecedented" year for works from the period, revealing that £41,502,500 had been realised by his department so far.

He said: "This inaugural evening sale, which has set the highest total for the category at Christie's, clearly highlights the current market's insatiable appetite for the best 20th Century British and Irish Art."