LS Lowry's iconic match day painting to go on tour of North West

LS Lowry's famous match day painting has left its home at The Lowry theatre and gallery in Salford and has begun a year-long tour around the region. 'Going to the Match' will be on display at five Northern venues over the next 12 months.

The 1953 painting features football supporters streaming into Burnden Park, the original home of Bolton Wanderers FC. Most of Lowry’s crowds, as in 'Going to the Match', are painted against a backdrop of Lancashire’s industrial landscape.

The Lowry tour started in December 2023 at Gallery Oldham, and there is still time to see it their as it will be displayed at the venue until 24 February. LS Lowry’s painting will then visit The Grundy Art Gallery in Blackpool, the Williamson Art Gallery & Museum in Birkenhead, The National Football Museum in Manchester City Centre and finally Bury Art Museum.

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Chief Executive of The Lowry, Julia Fawcett O.B.E. said: "Going to the Match is a masterpiece and for that reason alone, it was important we were able to secure it so that future generations could come and see it, for free, forever.

“Lowry was a great observer of ordinary people, particularly in the industrial landscape and the picture captures that pre-match expectation and excitement. It was so important to us that an artwork which speaks so directly to the people of the North was brought permanently back to where it belongs.

"Thanks to the wonderful generosity of The Law Family Charitable Foundation we were able to purchase the painting for the City of Salford, and we look forward to returning that generosity by sharing the painting with other venues and communities across the North West of England over the coming months