A Unique LS Lowry Artwork Skyrockets in Value at Auction
A remarkable painting by LS Lowry, initially purchased for just £10, has astonishingly fetched over £800,000 at a recent auction.
The artwork, titled “Going to the Mill,” was acquired by Arthur Wallace, the literary editor of the Manchester Guardian, for £10 back in 1926 and has remained within his family ever since.
The Sale of a Century
Last Friday, the painting was auctioned at the Mall Galleries in central London, where it reached a final sale price of £805,200, inclusive of the buyer’s premium.
Lowry, renowned for his depiction of industrial life in north-west England, created this piece in 1925. Notably, the artwork was initially marked at £30, but Wallace was able to secure it for a mere £10. When adjusted for inflation, this amount equates to approximately £521 in 2025, as per the Bank of England’s inflation calculator.
It is believed that “Going to the Mill” is among the earliest works sold by the Stretford-born artist. Additionally, Lowry gifted another painting, “The Manufacturing Town,” to Wallace, which his family sold several years ago.
Historical Context and Family Anecdotes
In October 1926, Wallace was responsible for editing a supplement for the Guardian to coincide with a civic week organized by Manchester city council, which featured three of Lowry’s paintings. During this event, which also included an exhibition at a local department store featuring Lowry, Wallace expressed his admiration for Lowry’s unique portrayals of factory-bound crowds.
Wallace’s grandson, Keith, recounts that Lowry, in a bold move, suggested a price of £10 for the painting. After Wallace agreed and wrote the check, Lowry felt the price was too steep and decided to gift an additional painting, thus giving Wallace two pieces for the price of one.
For nearly a century, “Going to the Mill” was held by the Wallace family and was also on long-term loan at the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester.
Auction House Delight
Simon Hucker, a specialist in modern and contemporary art at Lyon & Turnbull auction house, expressed his delight at the significant price achieved for this early Lowry painting, which was bought when Lowry was relatively unknown. He emphasized that Lowry is one of the rare artists who has become a household name in Britain, and his work, far from being naively simplistic, demonstrates sophisticated artistic choices that abstract figures to convey themes of loneliness and isolation amidst the bustling urban environment.
Hucker described “Going to the Mill” as a quintessential example of Lowry’s work from the 1920s, a period during which he developed a distinctive voice in British art. He noted the rarity of a painting like this remaining in a single collection for nearly a century and expressed pride in the auction house’s role in its history.
Previously in 2024, another Lowry painting titled “Sunday Afternoon” had fetched nearly £6.3 million at auction, further underscoring the enduring appeal and value of Lowry’s artwork.
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Fatima Clarke is a seasoned health reporter who bridges medical science with human stories. She writes with compassion, precision, and a drive to inform.
