A FAMOUS LS Lowry painting sold for £60,000 at Wright Marshall Auction House in Knutsford on Tuesday evening.

The Lowry which was brought to the Wright Marshall sale room by the vendor, (who wishes to remain anonymous) originally bought the painting for £1,000 at the Lefevre Gallery in London in 1972, and it’s been in their possession ever since.

Last year they decided to sell it and approached an art agent, who sought out the expertise of the Wright Marshall auctioneer and valuer Nick Hall.

Nick said: “I was delighted to have this opportunity to value this magnificent piece at the vendor’s home in Derbyshire.

"Once I’d seen it, completed my research and assessed its authenticity, I then returned with an estimated current market value of £50,000 to £60,000.

"We regularly feature Lowry’s at our Fine Antiques and Interiors Sales however, this one was exceptional. Lot 1125, ‘People in Street’ is signed by Laurence Stephen Lowry and also bears a written reference no for The Lefevre Gallery in London which is significant in selling on this rare piece.”

The £60,000 received for a painting was a record for Wright Marshall. 

The auction was filmed for the BBCs new series of 'Fake or Fortune'.

Rebecca White, production coordinator, said: “We are filming at Wright Marshall Auctioneers for the BBC series Fake or Fortune, an investigative art history series in which a team of specialists attempt to discover the truth about the authenticity of a painting attributed to a major artist.

"The on-screen team includes international art dealer Philip Mould, journalist and newsreader Fiona Bruce and art historian Dr Bendor Grosvenor.”

Philip Mould added: “For this particular programme, we’re looking at three small paintings believed to be by LS Lowry.

"Our search for evidence in favour of the paintings has led us to a genuine work by Lowry offered for sale at Wright Marshall – and we’re hoping to make an exciting connection between the pictures.

"We’re also keen to show how much an authentic Lowry can reach at auction if it comes with the correct provenance. ; Using cutting edge science, in-depth research and art world expertise, the team seek to find new evidence that might reveal the truth about a missing or previously unknown work”

The aim of the programme is to bring an in-depth and rigorous understanding of the artist, at the same time as taking the audience on a gripping journey through the story of a single work or small group of works.

In previous series the team have made programmes on Turner, Monet, Chagall, Van Dyck, Degas, Constable and others.

Wright Marshall’s next Fine Antiques and Interiors Sale is March 17 to 19.

If you have something that you think might be worth more than thought, why not give the auction house a call and this series of Fake or Fortune will air on BBC One in the summer of 2015.