It's coming home - Lowry's 'Going to the Match' comes back to Salford

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Going to the Match Credit: LS Lowry

LS Lowry’s iconic painting 'Going to the Match' is coming home and will be back on public display at The Lowry, Salford, from Friday 25 November.

It follows the successful bid last month by The Lowry at Christie’s in London, to buy the painting after the Professional Footballers' Association put it up for sale.

That led to fears the painting would vanish from public view and end up in a private collection, but The Lowry managed to buy it for £7.8m thanks to a gift from the Law Family charitable foundation.

This means it will now be rehung at The Lowry, where it will be free to view from Friday 25 November.

  • Laurence Stephen Lowry was born in Stretford on 1 November 1887.

  • He died in Glossop on February 23 1976 (aged 88)

  • Lowry is famous for painting scenes of life in the industrial parts of North West England.

  • He is best known for his urban landscapes peopled with human figures, often referred to as "matchstick men".

'Going to the Match' depicts a bustling throng of people heading towards Burnden Park football stadium, former home of Bolton Wanderers.

The painting’s iconic status has been recognised and loved by visitors of all ages, those who love art, those who love football and those who celebrate this quintessentially Northern experience.

LS Lowry died at the age of 88 Credit: PA

Julia Fawcett OBE, CEO of The Lowry, said: "We passionately believed Going to the Match needed to remain on public view.

"Its safe return to our Galleries, thanks to the wonderfully generous gift from The Law Family Charitable Foundation, will be a huge moment for Salford, and we cannot wait to bring it home.

"We know visitors will be coming in large numbers in the coming months to view this iconic and much-loved work of art, and we can’t wait to welcome them.

"Again, I’d like to thank everyone who has helped achieve this fantastic outcome."

Paul Dennett, Salford’s City Mayor, said: "This painting was created in the north and belongs in the north and thanks entirely to the generosity of the Law family it is coming home to Salford where it should be.

"It is so important to have this iconic piece of art on view to the public for generations to come and I will be delighted to welcome it back."

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