A FORMER Bury man has set up an online petition in protest at the sale of the town's Lowry painting.

Frank Foran has already had replies from the USA, Austria and Brazil lamenting the loss of a piece of social history.

The 1947 oil painting, entitled A River Bank, will be auctioned at Christie's in London on November 17. Bury Council hopes it will raise £500,000 to balance the budget, and a further £421,000 to meet the overspend on the new Ramsbottom Library.

"I feel my stomach fall when I read the deputy leader of the council's remarks that this work is enjoyed only by the few, and Bury should think of the many," said Mr Foran.

"Bury should think of the many in the past who made the town wealthy, and it was in this spirit that the painting was bought in the first place.

"It is a perfect artwork, which expresses so much of Bury's heritage and its presence in the Bury collection is both appropriate and well deserved."

He added: "I think that this is a matter of playing politics with art and civic pride. What kind of message does this send out to school children in Bury who might be doing a project on industrial history or simply in love with great art? To see their own council dismiss it in this way must be awful."

Frank grew up in Hollins and Bury and attended Prestwich High School before reading economic and social history at St Andrews.

After graduation and a time in local government in Manchester, he was invited to the liberated Czechoslovakia where he set up a specialist language school working with government ministries, business and the public. He now lives in Scotland.

He has recently set up an economic and social history group on flickr, an internet photo-sharing site, to pool images of historical interest. He has also set up a separate group dedicated to this one Lowry picture and what its sale represents.

"Even if further pressure on the council does not prevent the sale, it will be interesting to see how much activity this permanent Bury Lowry group on flickr will continue to generate. In a way, this could be the means by which Bury people can see the picture in future and contemplate its loss."

Mr Foran's petition is at http://flickr.com/groups/burylowry/

  • A River Bank is one of four works by Lowry which will be auctioned during British Art Week Autumn at Christie's.

The auction house describes it as "one of the finest works by the artist ever to appear at auction", and expects it to raise between £500,000 and £800,000.

The other Lowry works up for sale are Shipping, Sunderland, The Local Store and The Empty House.