[MSN] A bronze bust of the Salford artist LS Lowry has been stolen from Manchester Art Gallery.

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

LS Lowry bust stolen from gallery 
A bronze bust of the Salford artist LS Lowry has been stolen from Manchester
Art Gallery. 

The life size bronze head by sculptor Samuel Tonkiss was on open display on
the ground floor of the gallery when it was taken on Saturday afternoon. 

A spokeswoman from the museum said it is worth several thousand pounds. 

Greater Manchester Police are investigating the theft from the Moseley
Street gallery and are studying CCTV footage in a search for clues. 

The work features Lowry towards the end of his life and was bought by the
gallery in 1975. 


Lowry was born in Manchester in 1887 and died in 1976 and is most famous for
his industrial matchstick men scenes and landscapes of Salford and
Manchester. 
His style divided critics. 

He died on 23 February 1976, aged 88. 

During his lifetime he was described by some as an amateur "Sunday painter"
but is now rated by many as one of Britain's most important artists of the
20th Century. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/