LS Lowry painting which was inspired by his visits to Sunderland sells for more than £1m at auction

The North Sea sold for £1,070,381 at Tennants Auctioneers, in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, on Friday.

The painting was last seen on public view in an exhibition in 1967, the year after it was painted, and has since been in private hands.

Laurence Stephen Lowry, who died in 1976, is primarily known for his depictions of industrial landscapes in his native Lancashire and his “matchstick men”.

Yet he was also fascinated by the sea and regularly painted seascapes while on holiday in Wales or the North West of England.

A statement from Tennants said: “The North Sea, painted in 1966, is one of the finest examples of his rare large-scale seascapes.

“After the death of his mother in 1939 and he was free to choose his own holiday destinations, Lowry frequently stayed for long periods of time at the Seaburn Hotel, in Sunderland, which he became

deeply attached to and where the staff took great care of him.

"Here he always stayed in the same room, which looked straight out at the empty expanse of the North Sea, the water and sky melding at the horizon.”

The painting was sold from the estate of a woman from the North West.

Tennants added: “She would meet Lowry in Morecambe, and later recounted his delight in the simple pleasures of eating ice cream and his visible enjoyment of the seaside, and the pair bonded over their shared love of the sea.”

The identity of the painting’s new owner has still to be disclosed.