Lowry paintings to be auctioned

LS Lowry's An Old Church is valued at between £700,000 and £1m

Four major works by British artist LS Lowry are to be sold at auction by Christie's in London in June.

The paintings include Manchester City vs Sheffield United from 1938 and An Old Church, which has not been seen in public since the 1940s.

The four works have a total estimated value of £2.2m-£3m, while several other less sought-after Lowry works will also go under the hammer.

The paintings are part of a sale of 20th Century British art.

Rachel Hidderley from Christie's said: "Manchester City vs Sheffield United is from a small and important group of paintings in which Lowry records an actual event rather than a composite image of different locations or impressions."

One of Lowry's paintings, Good Friday, Daisy Nook, sold for £3.8m at auction last year.

The artist was born in 1887 in Lancashire, with many of his paintings depicting the Salford area, where he lived and worked for more than 40 years. He died in 1976 at the age of 88.