A PAINTING of Southampton's old floating bridge by "matchstick men" artist LS Lowry fetched more than double its expected price when it was sold for £221,500 at Christie's.
The London auctioneers would not identify the mystery buyer but said they were delighted with the outcome as the 25in by 22in work's pre-sale estimate was put at around £100,000.
The news will also delight Southampton City Art Gallery, which has a Lowry painting in storage of the same floating bridge which linked Southamp-ton with Woolston until the mid-1970s.
Lowry stayed with friends in the city during the 1950s and is said to have been fascinated by the hordes of people who used to cram on to the floating bridge.
The price paid for the picture eclipsed the sums paid for other Lowry canvasses auctioned off at the same sale.
The record price for a Lowry stands at more than £500,000, which his depiction of London's Piccadilly Circus fetched last year.
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