One of LS Lowry’s most famous paintings entitled, Going to the Match, is set to be auctioned off for a whopping £8 million in October.
The iconic impression of pre-match scenes, painted back in 1953, features Lowry’s trademark stick-figure silhouettes heading inside Burnden Park, the former home of Bolton Wanderers from 1895-1997.
Being auctioned off to raise money for the Players Foundation charity in London next month, as per The Guardian, the artwork will smash the artist’s record should it fetch the expected fee.
The current record price for a Lowry is held jointly by another football painting, The Football Match, which sold for £5.6m back in May 2011, as well as Piccadilly Circus (one of his very rare takes on London) which sold for the same amount six months later.
The last time Lowry’s Going to the Match was sold back in 1999, the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) paid £1.9m for it. The painting was dubbed the players union’s ‘prized possession’ by former chief exec Graham Taylor and has been on display at The Lowry gallery itself in Salford ever since.
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His piece was completed nearly a decade after the Burden Park Disaster of 1946, with Bolton leaving their original ground for the Reebok Stadium in 1997. He grew up nearby in Pendlebury but was a lifelong Manchester City fan.
Part of the beloved artwork’s charm, as is often the case with his collections, is the way it captures everyday working life set against the ever-present industrial backdrop of 20th century Manchester.
Nick Orchard, the head of modern British and Irish art at Christie’s – the auction house where the painting is set to be sold – said that what Lowry’s works are really about is ‘humanity… emotion, excitement, the crowd gathering, the group experience’.
“In the industrial north-west, most workers in the mills would probably do a five-and-a-half-day week, clock off lunchtime on Saturday, off to the match Saturday afternoon, and that was the beginning of their break from working life”, he said.
“Lowry was a great observer of people, particularly within the industrial landscape, and these football matches really captured the essence of what Lowry was trying to get to in his paintings.”
Featured: Christie’s Auction House
Art & Culture
You can now have a private sleepover amongst all the history inside Manchester Museum
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Museum is now offering one lucky family the chance to have a sleepover with Stan the Tyrannosaurus rex.
For the first time in Manchester Museum’s history, one lucky family will be given the chance to experience an incredible night at the museum.
This unique opportunity is being offered as part of a prize draw, allowing visitors to find out what happens once the sun goes down inside the Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery – in the company of Stan, the famous Tyrannosaurus rex, of course.
The Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery is one of the most iconic spaces within Manchester Museum.
Having opened to the public all the way back in 1888, it’s part of the museum’s original building designed by celebrated Alfred Waterhouse, who also designed Manchester Town Hall and London’s Natural History Museum.
Not only will the lucky winning family enjoy an overnight stay in the gallery, but they’ll also be treated to a guided torchlight tour of the galleries after the Museum has closed, as well as other fun activities and a film screening too before bed.
You can now have a private sleepover inside Manchester Museum / Credit: The Manc Group
“We can’t be completely sure what happens when the sun goes down in our Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery, because nobody has ever spent the night in there before, but we can only imagine the kind of fun that can be had with Stan the T. rex and his friends,” said Dean Whiteside, Head of Commercial and Operations at Manchester Museum.
“This is a chance to be a part of museum history and enjoy the kind of once-in-a-lifetime experience you can’t usually buy.
“At the same time, Manchester Museum is a charity so, by getting behind this initiative, you’ll be helping to support vital work that impacts the lives of people across Greater Manchester and beyond.”
Fancy it then? You can enter the prize draw by buying a ticket for £5 from the Manchester Museum Shop, with each ticket counting as one entry and the winner set to be chosen at random from all valid entries.
The prize draw is now open and closes on Monday 28 September 2026.
Featured Image – Supplied
Art & Culture
Manchester’s biggest comedy festival returns this week and you can STILL get tickets
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s most popular comedy festival is back this week, and there’s still time to get tickets if you’re up for a laugh.
That’s right – Laughterama is back in Manchester from today (2 September), and will once again be taking over the iconic Castlefield Bowl in the heart of the city centre for five days of fun.
Thousands of comedy lovers attend Laughterama each year to enjoy countless sell-out stand-up sets, and this year will be no different, as festivalgoers are in for an ‘explosive series of shows‘ from some of the hottest names on the comedy circuit.
Jack Dee, Nick Mohammed, Sara Pascoe, Fern Brady, and Chris McCausland are just some of the famous names on this year’s jam-packed lineup.
They’ll be joined by other big names like Michelle De Swarte, Stewart Lee, Nina Conti, Ivo Graham, Ellis James, and Harriett Kemsley when they all take to the Castlefield Bowl stage over the five-day festival from Wednesday 2 – Sunday 6 September.
Some of the other names you can expect are BAFTA nominee Rose Matafeo, stand-up marvel Sarah Keyworth, Plebs and Friday Night Dinner star Tom Rosenthal, and podcast hero John Robbins.
It wouldn’t be Laughterama without some newcomers and breakthrough stars, of course, and on the lineup this year are viral sensation Vittorio Angelone, fast-rising talents Kiran Saggu and Jen Nolan, and BBC New Comedy Award finalist Evaldas Karosas.
Laughterama returns to Manchester later this week, and you still / Credit: Matt Eachus | Supplied
And aside from the comedy, as always, you can expect the very-best eats from Manchester’s street food scene will also be on site to tuck into, as well as an exciting selection of bars serving signature beers, cocktails, and more.
Laughterama 2026 is landing at Castlefield Bowl this week from Wednesday 2 – Sunday 6 September, with tickets now on sale at £29 per person.
Danny Jones -
14th September 2022 
