A RARE painting by LS Lowry has been sold at auction for é530,000 to raise funds for a Scottish art collection.
Glasgow Docks, which was painted by the Salford artist in 1947, went under the hammer in Edinburgh. Auctioneers at Lyon and Turnbull had expected to raise about é300,000 and said the price was a record for a Lowry painting of a Scottish scene.
The work was sold by The Fleming Collection, which boasts the the largest number of Scottish works of art in private hands.
Money from the sale will now be used to secure the future of the Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation.
The charity aims to raise the profile of Scottish art, which it says is poorly represented in museums and galleries outside Scotland. It was started in 1968 by a London merchant bank founded by Robert Fleming.
Philip Gregory, from Lyon and Turnbull, said: "It's fantastic news, and is a world record price for a Lowry painting with a Scottish scene.
"Glasgow Docks is a rare and important depiction of the port area of Scotland's biggest city.
"The composition is typical of the artist's Lancashire-based work with an elevated viewpoint that enabled Lowry to take in the bustling docks in their entirety.
"There's been so much interest from around the world, and we had a good feeling about this one."
A spokesman for The Fleming Collection said: "We are very pleased by the price, which was in excess of the pre-sale estimate, and will provide a good start to the creation of the fund."
The highest price for a Lowry is é1.9m. His iconic Going to the Match, which depicts a crowd on the way to a Bolton football game, was sold in 1999 to the Professional Footballers' Association.
And sales this year have shown the artist's popularity is higher than ever.
In June, Lowry's painting of The Liver Building in Liverpool sold for é1m - twice its pre-sale estimate.
And this month his 1947 A River Bank was controversially sold by Bury council for é1.4m, the second highest price achieved at auction for a Lowry painting.
Rock band Oasis used the artist as inspiration for their new video of the single, The Masterplan, in which Liam and the rest of gang are transported into a series of famous Lowry scenes.
Rare 'Scottish' Lowry sold for £530,000
November 30, 2006
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Library file photo dated 14/11/2006 of a rare LS Lowry painting which was sold at auction today for £530,000 - safeguarding one of Britain's premier art collections in the process. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Tuesday November 28, 2006. Glasgow Docks, which was painted by the Manchester-born artist in 1947, went under the hammer in Edinburgh tonight. Auctioneers Lyon and Turnbull, who had been expecting it to fetch around £300,000, now believe it has set a world record price for a Lowry painting of a Scottish scene. See PA story SALE Lowry. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA. DATE CREATED: 14/11/2006
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Richard, Gtr Manchester (30/11/2006 at 14:47)
Iain, Prestwich (30/11/2006 at 17:24)
Non Salfordian (01/12/2006 at 11:09)
Keith, Pendlebury (02/12/2006 at 14:36)