L.S. Lowry's Sunday Afternoon will Highlight Christie's Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale

Presented from the Collection of Sir Keith and Lady Showering, the painting has not been exhibited publicly in 57 years. Last sold in 1967 at Christie’s, during the artist’s lifetime, it realised a then record price for a painting by the artist. Christie’s has achieved seven of the current top ten prices for Lowry’s work at auction. Sunday Afternoon’s epic and highly populated industrial landscape exemplifies some of the most widely celebrated themes, landmarks and motifs from within Lowry’s oeuvre, something incredibly rare to see within a single composition. Thought to be one of around 12 works created on this, his largest scale, with almost all similar paintings of this size now held in prominent public museums including The Lowry, Salford; Tate, London; and National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. The painting will be on view for all to see, at Christie’s headquarters on King Street in London, from 13 to 20 March.  

Keith Showering was a dynamic businessman whose career was founded on a 300-year-old Somerset family cider making business and the meteoric success of Babycham. By 1975, Showering was Chairman and CEO of Allied Breweries, Europe’s biggest drinks business, becoming the youngest ever Chairman and CEO of a FTSE 100 company. In 1981 he was knighted for services to industry and that same year he took over as Master of the Worshipful Company of Brewers. By the time of his death he was on the board of a wide variety of companies and arts organisations. 

Main Image :L.S. Lowry, Sunday Afternoon (1957, estimate: £4,000,000-6,000,000)