LS Lowry's Station Approach, Manchester in rare public showing

Auctioneers Sotheby's expect the painting to fetch up to £3m at auction

A "superb example of Lowry at his very best" has gone on public display for the first time in more than a quarter of a century.

Station Approach, Manchester, was sold by the Crane Kalman Gallery in London to a private collector in the late 1980s.

The painting is being shown at The Lowry arts centre in Salford, ahead of it being auctioned in London.

Auctioneers Sotheby's expect the painting to fetch up to £3m.

Frances Christie, the auction house's head of modern and post-war British art, said the painting was "one of Lowry's most exciting works to emerge in recent years".

"Lowry was a master at portraying the energy and vitality of everyday life and [in this painting] he captures the hustle and bustle of the crowds heading home after a hard day's work," she said.

The painting features a view of the London and North Western Railway Exchange Station.

Built in 1884 and closed in 1969, the Victorian front of the station had already been taken down by the time Lowry painted the work.

The station, which lay close to Manchester Cathedral, has since been fully demolished and the station approach is now a car park.

The painting will be on show in Salford until 1 June before being auctioned in London nine days later.

The now-demolished station lay close to Manchester Cathedral