Lowry painting could fetch up to £6m

Image caption, The painting dates back to 1960 and will be sold at auction next month

4 October 2011

A painting of London's Piccadilly Circus by LS Lowry could fetch up to £6m when it goes up for auction.

The 1960 artwork is among a collection of 14 which belonged to the late Lord Forte and are being sold by Christie's.

If it fetches its upper estimate next month, it would set a new world record price for the Salford artist's work.

It is one of two images Lowry painted of Piccadilly Circus. The earlier one set a then record price for the artist in 1998, fetching £562,500.

The current high of £5.6m is for The Football Match, which was sold earlier this year.

The Piccadilly painting shows the fountain topped by Eros in a different spot to its present location.

The painting features ads for Coca Cola, Bovril, Max Factor, Gordon's Gin and Wrigleys on the famous hoardings overlooking the junction.

Also in the sale is Fun Fair At Daisy Nook from 1953, depicting a Good Friday celebration for Lancashire mill workers.

It is expected to go for up to £2m.

Another is Saturday Afternoon, dating back to 1941, which shows figures enjoying themselves - playing football and cycling - at the weekend in front of an imposing factory building.

Lord Forte, who died in 2007, built up his worldwide leisure empire after opening a milk bar on London's Regent Street in 1935, at the age of 26.

The works will be auctioned at the 20th Century British and Irish Art Sale on 16 November.

Philip Harley, director and head of 20th Century British and Irish Art at Christie's London, said: "This group offers Lowry collectors the opportunity to acquire a master work from this carefully composed collection, gathered by an eminent figure of the post-war British era."