Painting of Lichfield Cathedral could fetch up to £800,000 at auction

The painting, by controversial and acclaimed romanticist painter JMW Turner, is to be sold at London's world-famous Sotheby's in July, with all money raised by the sale set to go towards upkeep at the Cathedral.

Bosses say it costs £5,000 a day to keep Lichfield Cathedral open and called the sale a 'once in a lifetime' event.

Despite holding a reserve price of £300,000, the elusive art piece, depicting the three-spired medieval structure soaring above a body of water, is expected to fetch anywhere between £500,000 and £800,000 at auction.

People can go and see the painting at the cathedral up until Sunday June 11.

Simon Warburton, the executive director of Lichfield Cathedral, said: “A legacy like this happens once in a lifetime. All of the proceeds from the sale will go towards the upkeep of the cathedral and its surroundings. It currently costs us £5,000 per day to keep the cathedral open, and we don’t receive any funding from the Church of England or the government, so the sale will directly help us preserve this wonderful cathedral for generations to come.

“Although we don’t have the facilities to display a painting like this permanently, we’re delighted we’ve been able to share this masterpiece with the public before it returns to Sotheby’s to be sold in July. More than 13,000 people have already come to see it and we expect many more before the exhibition closes on Sunday June 11.”

The very reverend Adrian Dorber, the dean of Lichfield, added: “It’s been a privilege for us to be able to display this exquisite artwork by one of the most famous painters in the world.

“Seeing as this beautiful watercolour may once again be confined to a private collection, our ‘Mr Turner Comes To Lichfield’ exhibition may be its final public appearance, so I would urge anyone who hasn’t been already to come and see the painting before it’s too late."