Four recently rediscovered works by LS Lowry, who is arguably Manchester’s most famous artist, are to be sold under auction next month at Christie’s in London.



LS Lowry’s work is synonymous with Manchester and is instantly recognisable thanks to his distinctive matchstick figures. His work depicts the everyday lives of ordinary people that lived in Manchester and various other industrial towns in the North West. Although Lowry was born in 1887 in Lancashire, much of his work is focused on Salford – the area that Lowry lived and worked in for over 40 years. LS Lowry died in 1976 at the age of 88 in Glossop, Derbyshire.



The newly resurfaced Lowry paintings that are being sold at the auction include Manchester City Vs Sheffield United, a work that dates from 1938. Rachel Hidderley from Christie's said of this work: “Lowry was a keen football supporter... he concentrates on the home crowd rather than the team members, using the occasion of the match to concentrate on depicting the personalities of the individuals attending.” Ms Hidderley also explained that this work is quite an unusual one for Lowry, she said: “Manchester City vs Sheffield United is from a small and important group of paintings in which Lowry records an actual event rather than a composite image of different locations or impressions.”



Another of the rare works on offer at the auction is An Old Church, which has not been seen in public for over 60 years. The work was recently rediscovered in a private collection and, as Ms Hidderley explains, it is rather typical of Lowry’s work. She said: “The bustling figures are placed in groups, though stand alone, expressing a universal loneliness, which is characteristic of Lowry's figures.” Both this work and Manchester City Vs Sheffield United are expected to fetch around a million pounds each.



Other paintings that are expected to sell at the auction include the lesser-known A Cricket Match, which has not been seen in over ten years. This work is expected to sell for between 600,000 and 800,000 pounds, while the other painting, The Sea, is estimated to sell for around 250,000 pounds.



This collection of rare paintings is being auctioned as part of a sale of 20th Century British art. LS Lowry’s painting Good Friday, Daisy Nook sold for almost £4 million at auction last year.



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Karri Madelline is a local freelance journalist who used to work for a professional model agency as a manchester incalls model.