A RARE LS Lowry painting of a small Scots fishing town will return to Scotland after a collector paid more than £890,000 at auction.

The English artist famed for his matchstick figures painted Steps at Wick in 1937, when he holidayed in the Caithness town.

The 17x21in oil on canvas was exhibited around ­Britain but was bought by a private London ­collection in 1993 and remained in the same family, out of public view, for 20 years.

It was sold at Bonhams' headquarters in New Bond Street, London, to a Scots collector for £890,500 after a five-minute telephone bidding war.

The painting was the ­highlight among 19 Lowry paintings and drawings in the sale, which fetched a total of nearly £2million.

A Bonhams spokesman said: "There was a huge amount of interest and we are delighted with the sale."

Lowry was 50 when he painted the Steps at Wick but it is seen as an "early tour de force" because he came to painting quite late in life after previously ­working as a rent collector.

The steps pictured in his image were part of Thomas Telford's 1809 scheme for the new town plan of ­Pulteneytown for the British ­Fisheries Society.

The Black Stairs were part of Telford's original plan for Pulteneytown linking the residential area above the bank, via Lower Dunbar Street, to the harbour below.

The artwork is ­commemorated at the site with an engraved plaque of the painting bearing the legend "This is the original site where L.S. Lowry painted Black Steps, Wick in 1936", although the painting is clearly dated 1937.

Penny Day, of Bonhams' Modern British and Irish Art Department, said: "It is such a cracking example of Lowry's work.

"It really ticks all the boxes for a Lowry collector. You've got the big figures, the dog, the pram - all the qualities you need to make a big price."

The painting had a ­pre-sale estimate of £500,000-800,000. Bidding opened with an offer of £400,000 in the auction room, before a battle ensued between rival ­telephone bidders that saw the price rise.

Ms Day added: "We are delighted with the result of the sale, which confirms LS Lowry's position as one of the most sought-after British painters.

"Steps at Wick is an important and striking work which fully deserves its high price."