Condition: Excellent

This piece is undoubtedly Lowry's most coveted and valuable limited-edition print. The original painting it is based on was sold at a Christie’s auction in October 2022 for £7,846,500, surpassing the previous auction record for a Lowry work set in 2011, when *The Football Match* fetched over £5 million. Painted in 1953, the original is currently housed at The Lowry Centre in Salford and has recently been appraised at £6-10 million.
Historian T.G. Rosenthal notes, “*Going to the Match* is an extraordinary painting, and its record price reflects not only its quality but also its appeal to the eventual buyer… [it is] a rare example of the piece d’occasion, whose integrity and grandeur overshadow the occasion itself.”
Much of Lowry's work captures the daily lives of the working class, which adds a unique uplifting quality to his football-themed pieces. An avid football fan, Lowry supported Manchester City and frequently attended home games. Similar themes can be seen in *The Football Match* and *Coming from the Match* , showcasing the artist's passion for the sport. Many of these works reference Burnden Park, home of Bolton Wanderers, located just a few miles from Pendlebury, which Lowry visited as a young man. However, like many of his industrial landscapes, his football paintings are often a blend of reality and imagination, integrating various elements from the rich mythology of Lowry's imagery. Factories, buildings, and streets are woven into a singular "vision." As Lowry himself stated: “If I had shown things as they are, it would not have looked like a vision. So, I had to create symbols. With my figures too, of course.” Thus, this painting represents not a specific football match, but rather a vision encompassing all football matches.

Historically this edition has sold for over £80,000 and continues to be in demand.