LS Lowry's Going To The Match to go on free regional tour

LS Lowry's Going To The Match shows fans arriving for a Bolton Wanderers game

One of LS Lowry's most famous works is to go on tour so "as many people as possible" can see it for free.

The 1953 painting Going to the Match shows fans arriving for a Bolton Wanderers game at their former home, Burnden Park.

It had been on public display at The Lowry in Salford since 2000, courtesy of former owners the Professional Footballers Association (PFA).

It will go on show in areas including Oldham, Blackpool, Birkenhead and Bury.

The work was purchased by The Lowry at Christie's in London in October 2022 for £7.8m when the PFA was forced into selling it.

The venue is now working with galleries across the North West to ensure that the piece can be enjoyed by the widest possible audience and communities.

LS Lowry, who died in 1976, spent much of his life in Salford

Chief executive Julia Fawcett said: "Going to the Match is a masterpiece and for that reason alone it was important we were able to secure it so that future generations could come and see it, for free, forever.

"Lowry was a great observer of ordinary people, particularly in the industrial landscape, and the picture captures that pre-match expectation and excitement.

"It was so important to us that an artwork which speaks so directly to the people of the North was brought permanently back to where it belongs."

The painting will be on public display in Gallery Oldham from 2 December to 24 February 2024.

Councillor Peter Dean, cabinet member for communities and culture, said it was "a real honour to display it".

"I hope that as many people as possible take this opportunity to see this important artwork," he said.

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

Going to the Match was one of a number of paintings he made on the theme of sports and was inspired by Bolton Wanderers' old Burnden Park stadium.

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