SIR Ian McKellen has spoken of his pleasure that The Tate gallery in London is to host an exhibition of works by LS Lowry.

The former Bolton School pupil told his followers on the social networking website Twitter: “I'm sure all Lowry’s admirers will be happy as I am that Tate will show a major retrospective of his industrial paintings in 2013.”

The Lord of the Rings actor fronted a documentary reappraising Lowry’s work, last year.

The exhibition of about 80 of the Northern painter’s work will be the first by a public London gallery since the artist’s death in 1976.