tom_murphy

Tom Murphy is a celebrated artist, with more than forty sculptures on public display throughout the United Kingdom.

Tom, was born in 1949. He started his artistic career initially as a hobby and moved quickly to an intense period of self-study, mastering a range of techniques in many art disciplines.

Previously, he worked in a number of occupations which included; a seaman, salesman, musician and impressionist in a pop group.

Later he graduated as a teacher at Liverpool John Moores University, and taught Art at the City of Liverpool Community College and other colleges in Merseyside. He also worked at a Centre for People with Learning Disabilities. His differing careers and interest in the characteristics of people, have both acted as a rich source of inspiration in both his paintings and sculptures.

Tom’s early experimentation in painting was recognised when he won first prize in the prestigious BBC ‘Art 88’ competition. His first big success in sculpture, however, came in 1996 when a representative of a major Liverpool Company, Littlewoods, saw his 7” 6’ fibreglass sculpture of John Lennon. He was commissioned to sculpt two monumental size bronzes of the Moores brothers for Liverpool’s premier shopping area, Church Street.

His work forms part of the urban landscape throughout Liverpool, North West and the rest of the UK. He has also sold many smaller works around the world.

Tom is the first choice of sculptor for many major Liverpool institutions. Now his work is known internationally due to his iconic statue of John Lennon at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, which was admired by Yoko Ono, and unveiled by Her Majesty The Queen.

His sculptures of Ken Dodd and Bessie Braddock, commissioned by Merseytravel, at Lime Street station, have been much admired and welcome people to the city of Liverpool.

Tom is best known for his large sculptures and memorials, they include: Hillsborough, The Liverpool Blitz, Noel Chavasse VC and Bar Liverpool VCs Memorial, The Liverpool Pals Memorial and the RoadPeace Traffic Memorial.

Tom is an accomplished painter, and has been commissioned to paint many key Merseyside figures, including the official retirement portrait of Mr John Moores.

He has also created many sporting sculptures, these include the Bill Shankly Statue at Liverpool Anfield Stadium and the Dixie Dean statue at Everton FC in Goodison Park. In 2014, Tom’s sculpture of the late Johnny King was unvelied in Prenton Park, Birkenhead, Wirral. In 2016, his sculpture of John Atyeo for Bristol City Football Club was unveiled.

Most recently, Tom has been made an honorary fellow of Liverpool John Moores University and was later awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Liverpool. In 2017, Liverpool City Council recgonised him as a Citizen of Honour.