LS Lowry print of lost Burton landmark sells for £1,700 in Staffordshire auction

High Street level crossing long gone

A SIGNED LS Lowry print of a lost Burton landmark has sold at auction in Staffordshire for £1,700.

'The Level Crossing, Burton-on-Trent' went under the hammer with Richard Winterton Auctioneers at The Lichfield Auction Centre just a few miles down the road from the scene depicted in the original 1961 oil painting.

Lowry is believed to have been a frequent visitor to Burton and produced numerous pictures of scenes in the town, with this arguably his most famous.

The print features the artist's distinctive style with a boxy depiction of a brewery train and ‘matchstick’ figures.

A landmark in Lowry’s time, the physical level crossing in High Street has long since been decommissioned and removed, with the gates reportedly repurposed as farm fencing.

The Crossing pub – formerly The Blue Posts – can be seen to the right of the picture.

The mounted, framed and glazed print, signed in pencil by Lowry and bearing the Fine Art Trade Guild blind stamp, was one from a limited edition of 850 published in 1973 by Henry Donn.

It was consigned to auction by a vendor from the Sutton Coldfield area following a free valuation at The Lichfield Auction Centre, Wood End Lane, Fradley Park.

Auctioneer and valuer David Fergus said: “Frequently packed with fascinating detail, Lowry’s distinctive images of industrial scenes and people have timeless appeal.

“This was a lovely clean unfaded example of a lost local landmark in Lowry’s trademark style.”

The print sold to a private buyer in the UK on August 18.

Other hotly-contended lots in the same auction included a 1974 18ct yellow gold GMT-Master 1675 on an 18ct gold Jubilee bracelet sold at £13,500, a large collection of ceramics – mostly Moorcroft but also featuring examples by Dennis Chinaworks, Poole and Cobridge – exceeding £6,500, and a large collection of Beswick figures totalling £2,400.

Free drop-in valuations of jewellery, watches, gold and silver take place at The Auction Café by Richard Winterton Auctioneers in Market Street, Lichfield, on Tuesdays between 9.30am and 3pm.

Valuations of other items take place on Wednesdays, with different specialists offering advice from 9.30am-12.30pm – read more information here.

To book a free valuation of all types of jewellery, watches and antiques at The Lichfield Auction Centre, Wood End Lane, Fradley Park, or to arrange a home visit for large collections or house clearances, call 01543 251081 or email office@richardwinterton.co.uk.

Free valuations of watches and jewellery are also available at The Tamworth Auction Rooms – email tamworth@richardwinterton.co.uk or call 01827 217746.