As an investment, Going to the Match proved to be a winner, but last month told a different story. The Foundation also lost money with the sale of a street-scene that Lowry painted for his cleaner, Mrs Swindell’s Picture (1967), for a hammer price of £320,200. In 2011, it had cost £361,250.
The Lake, bought eight years ago for £146,500, returned with a £140,000 hammer price, and three sculptures by Barbara Hepworth, reportedly a Lowry fan, which had cost £630,000, returned only £490,000.
Like Lowry, Hepworth is perceived to have a strong market, so the losses were because the Foundation had simply paid too much, according to dealers. “There have also been 10 £1 million-plus Lowrys sold at auction in the last 18 months,” said a dealer, “so perhaps demand at that level has been saturated.”
Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Foundation at the time of the purchases, was quite outspoken about his love of art, and his appreciation of the works both of Lowry, a Manchester City supporter, and Yorkshire-born Hepworth.
But in 2019, he stepped down amid criticism of the use of footballer-pension funds to buy art instead of looking after ex-players’ health needs – particularly those with dementia.