Salford mayor's plea for help to buy Lowry painting for public

The work will be sold at Christie's in London on 19 October

A mayor has written to prominent local figures and business leaders asking for help to buy a Lowry painting valued at £8m so it can remain on public display.

The Players Foundation (PF), the Professional Footballers' Association charity, intends to auction LS Lowry's Going To The Match in October.

It had previously loaned the 1953 work to Salford's Lowry arts centre.

In the letter, Salford Mayor Paul Dennett said he wanted to save the "critically important" painting.

"If we save this painting, it will not sit idly in any basements out of view - or even static in a gallery," he said.

"We will take the work around the country and beyond - and the story of how it was kept for the public will become part of its legacy."

Salford Council said the letter had been sent to the leaders of the nine other Greater Manchester councils, the region's mayor Andy Burnham and a number of other prominent local figures, including former footballer and Salford City FC co-owner Gary Neville and bookmaker Fred Done.

The painting won Lowry first prize in an exhibition in 1953

In the letter, Mr Dennett said: "All this at a time of unprecedented energy costs and high inflation, which has significantly impacted revenue and capital budgets across the entirety of local government.

"In short, we cannot do this alone!

"But together with others, I believe we can preserve this iconic piece of L.S. Lowry's work, with a commitment to keeping it free to access for people in Salford, Greater Manchester and beyond."

The PF said the financial crisis meant it had to sell "in the interests of our beneficiaries" as it "no longer has any income guaranteed, so we have had to completely reposition".

Lowry, who died in 1976, spent much of his life in Salford and his work is strongly associated with the city.

Going To The Match is one of several football subjects painted by Lowry, who was always keenly interested in sport.

Many of the pictures have either direct or imaginary links with Burnden Park, the then-home of Bolton Wanderers, which was only a few miles from where the artist lived.

It won Lowry first prize in a 1953 exhibition, which was sponsored by The Football Association, and was last auctioned in 1999, when it was acquired by the charity for about £2m.

The work will be sold at Christie's in London on 19 October.