The hunt is on for 2 pieces of art which once graced the old Speaker’s Platform at the Pier Head. This iconic construction was designed by the sculptor Arthur Dooley and architect Jim Hunter in 1973, to mark the 125th anniversary of the founding of the TUC.
The platform was based on Vladimir Tatlin’s tower, a never-completed Soviet monument intended to dwarf the Eiffel Tower.
In the 1970’s and 80’s, the platform became the focal point for numerous rallies and demonstrations. Then, in the 1990’s, it disappeared. Rumour had it that it lay forgotten in a Council depot in Calderstones Park before being cut up for scrap.
A sad loss for the city. However, the tower also had two significant art pieces which are missing: the plaque headed WORKERS OF EUROPE UNITE, and the STRIKE sculpture (see pictures below).
Leading the efforts to locate these valuable pieces are Dennis Hepworth, curator of the official Arthur Dooley Archive & Museum, and Tom Calderbank, cultural activist and founder of Dooleyday. Their goal is to retrieve the artworks and ensure their preservation by exhibiting them permanently within the Arthur Dooley Sculptural Museum. Situated at 36 Seel Street in Liverpool 1, the museum offers visitors a unique opportunity to view multiple original works and delve into the artists’ creative process and experience his profound impact on the field of sculpture.
If you have any information regarding the current whereabouts of these artworks, we kindly urge you to come forward. The return of these significant pieces would be a valuable contribution to our community’s cultural heritage. To provide information or make arrangements for their safe return – no questions asked – please contact the project team asap.
Email: dooley.info[at]tiscali.co.uk or call Dennis on 07380 802611.
Arthur Dooley was one of the most important worker artists of the 20th Century. Born in Liverpool on 17th January 1929, he lived at 31 Enid Street, L8. In his time he was a tugboat deckhand, Cammell Laird welder, solider, communist, prisoner, boot mender, bagpiper, janitor, carbon loader, boxer and much much more. As a sculptor, his medium was usually scrap metal or bronze.
His sculptures are highly religious and political in nature. His work is all over the city including in both Cathedrals, St Nicholas Church, Mathew Street, Princes Road, the Scandinavian Seaman’s Church, St Joseph the Worker, and more. He campaigned for the restoration of the Albert Dock and by the late 1960’s, was already calling for it to be opened up for leisure and tourism. In 1972 he used the BBC documentary One Pair of Eyes (available on You Tube) to highlight the sorry state of the dock, and raise the idea of restoring it as an attraction befitting one of the world’s great ports.
An ardent catholic and communist, he saw no contradiction between the two. He was instrumental in re-launching the Liverpool Academy of Arts in 1988 and established his last studio in Seel Street and worked there until his death in 1994. Today the building has been extensively refurbished, including the restoration of his studio, soon to reopen as a museum.
His exemplifies the idea of the artist and the city they work in as intrinsic to one another; he was – and remains – a true son of Liverpool.