Never-seen Lowry to go on show

The painting has never before been seen by the public

A never-before-seen painting by LS Lowry is going on show at Salford's Lowry Museum.

The oil painting, Industrial Landscape, was bought by a collector in 1959, just before LS Lowry was going to exhibit it at the Lefevre Gallery, London.

The painting is now being auctioned and is expected to sell for £500,000.

Lowry fans will be able to see it in Greater Manchester until 1 June. The museum said it was delighted to share the work with its visitors.

Lindsay Brookes, head of galleries at the Lowry, said: "Industrial Landscape has many of the qualities that make Lowry's paintings so accessible and it will be a very welcome temporary addition to our exhibition."

It is a magnificent example of Lowry at his finest and is among the very best Lowrys I have ever seen Matthew Bradbury Bonhams Auctioneers

The painting, measuring 20in by 24in (51 x 61 cm), is painted in a palette of just five colours and shows a busy street scene with Lowry's traditional spires and chimneys rising in the background.

It was bought by the vendor in the 1950s for just £300.

Matthew Bradbury, of London auctioneers Bonhams, said: "It is a magnificent example of Lowry at his finest and is among the very best Lowrys I have ever seen."

The painting is the latest in a series of Lowry's to go up for sale since the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) paid £1.9m for "Going to the Match" in 1999.

Since that sale, Bury Council caused a splash within the art world by selling Lowry's "A Riverbank" from its art collection for £1.4m in 2006.

Six other Lowry paintings are expected to fetch a combined total of £3m when they go under the hammer at Christies Auctioneers in June.