Brian Shields – who painted as Braaq – went on to become one of the most successful English artists of the late 1970s but died of a brain haemorrhage in 1997 aged 46.

He moved from his Liverpool birthplace to Harrogate in 1968 to train as a hotel chef after his father, also a gifted artist,
dissuaded him from trying to earn a living from painting.

With similarities to modern graffiti artist Banksy, he made his name in 1974 after a hoax hatched with a friend in Harrogate, who claimed a mysterious artist had broken into his house and decorated the walls with murals.

His pseudonym – a mis-spelling of the French painter, George Braque – was Shields's schoolboy nickname because of his artistic talent and after turning professional at 23 he became know as "Liverpool's Lowry" for pictures which drew upon memories of his childhood in the city.

Braaq depicted himself in many works as a scruffy boy in black and white hooped jumper and his mother's name, Agnes, often appears as graffiti on walls in the scenes.

The mischievous boy features in a wintry Northern landscape, titled It's you who wants to look where he is going tee!, which is among the highlights of a sale by Chester auctioneers Byrne's on Wednesday.

The 1978 oil on board painting shows adults and children on a frozen pond and is inscribed "Ann", in memory of his sister, who also died prematurely. The work is expected to fetch between £3,000 and £5,000.

Auctioneer Jo Boucher said: "This is a charming painting by an artist who was described by The Times during his lifetime as one of the six most successful artists in Britain. He exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and came to be known as Liverpool's Lowry. His paintings are collected around the world and this work has already caused a great deal of interest."

Shields, whose grandfather painted commissions for the Royal family, left Harrogate in 1982 after he was declared bankrupt and moved to Portugal.