PAUL CURTIS ARTWORK
Liverpool FC Murals
Jordan Henderson & Alan Hansen Mural
This mural was painted to celebrate Liverpool winning the 2020 Premier League title. It was sponsored by Revilo Properties and is located on Old Barn Road in Anfield, Liverpool.
The mural depicts Jordan Henderson lifting the Premier League trophy but also features Alan Hansen lifting the 1990 First division trophy. Thus, the artwork encapsulates the successes of the modern Liverpool squad but also appreciates the success that went before and doesn't ignore the long wait for the 19th League Title.
Hendo is painted in full colour, looking towards the Anfield Stadium and to further successes in the future. Alan Hansen is depicted behind him, slightly in the background and in black and white. This was done to convey time and history. It also makes for a good contrast (the black, white and red).
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Anne Williams Mural
A symbol of the city, a hero and an amazing woman.
“It’s an honour to be asked to do this because of what Anne, the other families and the survivors went through and how they kept fighting for the truth for so many years. Everyone knows how important this is to the city and I’m very conscious of that.
“Anne is a heroic figure to many people because she represents that attitude of never giving in when faced with a terrible situation and all the unfair decisions and obstacles which were put in the way of justice.
“She kept going through it all and I think that’s the kind of spirit people relate to in Liverpool so it’s nice this tribute is now there in memory of her.”
Anne Williams fought hard for a new enquiry into the Hillsborough disaster of 1989, her actions being prompted by the death of her son Kevin at Hillsborough, who had been crushed to death in the disaster. She was a mother of three from Formby who worked part-time in a newsagent and levelled several legal attacks at the first Hillsborough inquest, questioning the credibility of its findings.
Her fight was long but she was unwavering and should always be seen as a shining light of perseverance and standing up for justice against the odds.
In January 2022, Anne's story was depicted in a docudrama, penned by Liverpool writer, Kevin Sampson. The brilliant actress, Maxine Peake, plays Anne. It is difficult to watch at times due to some highly emotional and heart-breaking scenes, but it is recommended that everyone should watch the series.
Anne holding her fist aloft in celebration of the Hillsborough Independent Panel on September 12, 2012 - which quashed the initial inquest verdicts
One Night in Istanbul Mural
Istanbul 2005. One of, if not THE, greatest night in Liverpool FC's history. Liverpool's fifth European Cup was achieved in a final that has achieved legendary status. It is considered the greatest final of all time. A comeback from 3-0 down against the mighty AC Milan seemed impossible. Yet, and with a great deal owing to Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, Liverpool seized victory from the jaws of defeat.
This mural of Carra and Gerrard is located at Hotel Anfield, just a stones throw away from Anfield Stadium. It celebrates the ecstasy and sheer relief the team experienced that night. However, it also celebrates the history of the club and reflects that without the solid foundations built by those who went before, this feat would likely never have been achieved. Two heroes of the past, Bill Shankly and Kenny Dalglish, look on at the lads celebrating the momentous night.
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King Kenny Dalglish Mural
King Kenny, the pride of the Kop at Anfield. This mural is painted on The Kop End Bar on Oakfield Road in Liverpool.
The artwork depicts Kenny Dalglish in the classic pinstripe red shirt from 1984. This street artwork was completed by Liverpool artist, Paul Curtis in January 2022.
Kenny Dalglish is considered by many reds to be LFC's greatest-ever player. During his career, he made 338 appearances for Celtic and 515 for Liverpool, playing as a forward, and earned a record 102 full caps for the Scotland national team, scoring 30 goals, also a joint record. Dalglish won the Ballon d'Or Silver Award in 1983, the PFA Players' Player of the Year in 1983, and the FWA Footballer of the Year in 1979 and 1983. In 2009, FourFourTwo magazine named Dalglish the greatest striker in post-war British football, and he has been inducted into both the Scottish and English Football Halls of Fame. He is very highly regarded by Liverpool fans, who still affectionately refer to him as King Kenny, and in 2006 voted him top of the fans' poll "100 Players Who Shook the Kop".
Dalglish became player-manager of Liverpool in 1985 after the resignation of Joe Fagan, winning a further three First Divisions, two FA Cups and four FA Charity Shields, before resigning in 1991.
January 2011 saw Kenny return to Liverpool as caretaker manager after the dismissal of Roy Hodgson, becoming the permanent manager in May 2011. Despite winning the League Cup, the club's first trophy since 2006 and reaching the FA Cup Final, Liverpool only finished 8th in the Premier League, and Dalglish was dismissed in May 2012. In October 2013, Dalglish returned to Anfield as a non-executive director, and Anfield's Centenary Stand was renamed after him in May 2017.
The KOP mural
A poignant piece that captures the solidarity of the Liverpool supporters. The fans on the Kop often take part in these mosaic tributes on the anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy (15th April), remembering the 96 who tragically never came home from the FA cup semi final tie between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forrest in 1989 (this was painted before Andrew Devine sadly succumbed to injuries and became the 97th victim).
This mural is located at Jurgen's Bierhaus on The Strand in Liverpool.
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Shankly mural
Finally, we can unveil this mural of the legendary @liverpoolfc manager Bill Shankly. Painted at @hoteltia and in association with @shanklywhiskey. Bill's granddaughter @misshanks3 helped with the photo selection and design
Ian Callaghan, @phil.thompson4, and @spiritofshankly were all present for the mural unveiling and were joined by Sammy Lee and David Fairclough in the evening. All had a good time.
Missy Bo Mural
Mural on Tancred Road of Liverpool Women's Football midfielder and captain Missy Bo Kearns.
By the time this was painted, there were already many, many murals dedicated to male LFC players. This was the first to celebrate the women’s team. The mural shows Missy Bo lifting the FA Women’s Championship trophy in 2022, thereby gaining promotion to the Women’s Super League.
The aim of the mural is to encourage more young girls to find role models, such as Missy Bo, and aim high in their chosen sport. This is the reason for the inclusion of the young fan in the foreground (kindly modelled by Bryony Rees-Winter).
Liverpool Legends Mural
Five LFC Legends, 60s 70s 80s 90s & present day.
This mighty red mural was painted at The Kop End Hotel & Bar on Oakfield Road, Anfield in August 2022 by Liverpool artist, Paul Curtis.
The mural celebrates different eras of LFC's successful history.
To the far left of the artwork is Ian Callaghan MBE, representing the 1960's and the start of Liverpool's rise to the top under the great Bill Shankly.
On the far right of the mural and representing the late 1970's, is Kenny Dalglish. King Kenny shot Liverpool FC into their most successful era - the late 1970's and early 1980's.
Next to Kenny and representing the 1980's is the wing wizard, John Barnes. John was a crowd favourite, especially for his silky skills, and was a major part of the great 1986 double winning team.
Bang centre is God. Robbie Fowler will forever be a hero for the Kop. A local lad from Toxteth who went on to score 128 goals for LFC (mainly in the 1990's) and was a key part of the 2001 treble winning side.
Nestled between Fowler and Callaghan is Virgil Van Dijk. Virgil has been a key signing for Jurgen Klopp's side and his leadership and seemingly effortless defending was a corner stone of Liverpool's 2019 UEFA Champion's League victory and 2020 Premier League Champions team.
This mural was a real challenge to paint. 5 portraits with varying degrees of source photo quality.
However, the end result appears to seamlessly bring together these Kop heroes.
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Jurgen Klopp mural
The Jurgen Klopp mural painted at Jurgen's Bierhaus in Liverpool. Jurgen is captured doing his now famous 6 finger celebration, one for each of Liverpool FC's Champions League trophies. Jurgen was seen making this pose, albeit a little worse for wear, on the back of Liverpool's celebration home coming bus tour following their victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the final in Madrid in 2019. Lets talk about six baby. The mural is in Jurgen's Bar, located on the Strand in Liverpool.
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Liverpool Legends mural
This mural depicts Liverpool legends, Bill Shankly and Kenny Dalglish amidst a backdrop of famous red and white Kop flags. The mural is part of a larger painting , called "The Derby" which sees LFC facing EFC.
Unfortunately, quite a bit of the footage disappeared, so there are a few jumps in the time sequence.
Bill Shankly is responsible for launching Liverpool FC from an average regional football team into the most successful team in English history. He can rightly be regarded as one of the best managers in the world. Kenny Dalglish is widely regarded by many people as LFC's greatest player, and is affectionally known as King Kenny.
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John Houlding mural
One for the true LFC fans who know their history.
This mural at @thesandoncomplex on Houlding Street is a tribute to the fella who started it all...
John Houlding was the founder of @liverpoolfc, resulting from a convoluted rent dispute for the Anfield Football ground between @everton and Houlding.
The result was that Everton moved across Stanley Park to Goodison and Houlding formed a new team, Liverpool FC
The meetings regarding the dispute and the formation of LFC all took place in the Sandon Pub (and there is a lot of info about the history of the events inside the pub)
The street the mural is on is also named Houlding Street
YNWA mural
Inspired by Liverpool FC's anthem, You'll Never Walk Alone. This YNWA mural was painted for a lady in Anfield, Liverpool, who is a life-long red. It was also a piece dedicated to her husband who has sadly passed away. The graffiti-style writing is backed by a red liver bird. A pleasure to work on this one. The lady who requested it was a lovely person and so enthusiastic about LFC and the finished artwork!
