In a long legal career you are bound to meet some characters. There was the fortune teller in Pleasureland Southport whose ability to tell the future certainly led to some shrewd commercial purchases which definitely made a fortune for her. Sadly I never asked for advice about making money but acting for her was always fun. She was a remarkable lady whose innate understanding of human nature was indeed uncanny.
A recent article in the Liverpool Echo about Arthur Dooley and his Black Christ Sculpture adorning the side of the Methodist Church on Princes Avenue, Toxteth brought back memories for me of another client who I will never forget. Arthur was a one off. After working at Cammell Laird, he went off to join the army and at one stage deserted to join the Palestinian Liberation Army. After serving a spell in detention for his desertion he eventually got a job as a cleaner in a London Art College.
In the 1950s he started Sculpting in earnest and set up a workshop in Slater St Liverpool. Largely untaught, he is now regarded as one of the finest sculptors Liverpool has ever produced. His works grace both of our Cathedrals and the Parish Church. Much of his output has a religious theme but his tribute to the Beatles is still on display in Matthew St. The other theme of his work was the labour movement and one of his works is displayed in the Working Class Movement library in Manchester.
In the 1980’s and early 90’s Arthur wondered into our Princes Rd office with various demands for money that he received from time to time. On another occasion there was an angry letter from a London institution who were still waiting for a commissioned work, paid for but long overdue. Arthur was never worried about these demands. It was almost as if the normal rules relating to a market economy did not really apply to him. Did the demand for payment of rates really mean anything? It seemed unlikely that it did to Arthur and after all, one of his artworks donated to the council would surely satisfy their unreasonable demands.
I have never met anyone for whom money was so unimportant. His main concern was that he would be commissioned to sculpt Stations of the Cross for the Metropolitan Cathedral but the job went to someone else. You might ask how he paid me for my services but it seemed almost ridiculous to ask him to pay anything. He was grateful and of course he was going to pay me. ‘I am in the middle of creating a statue of Moses the law giver’ he said. I will get it to you when it’s finished. When he died in 1993, I was still waiting. However he did give me the photograph taken in his workshop and also a line drawing of Jack Jones by Syd Booth (both pictured), another stalwart of the Working Class Movement. Jack, the former General Secretary of the Transport and General Union, was from under the bridge in Garston.
One of his most prominent works is the Black Risen Christ on the side of the Methodist Church in Prince Road. We take this for granted now as it has become part of the local scenery; but when it was put up in 1969, it created a furore. Christ as a black figure broke all conventional ideas of what Jesus might have looked like. This was typical of Arthur. How could a Church in Liverpool 8, the centre of the black community have a white Christ at its heart?
Soon after the statue was put up, black youth stormed the Methodist Youth Club and claimed it for its own. Arthur’s inspiration changed history and the Methodist Centre played a significant part in giving black youth a voice in a City. Arthur deserves a proper place in the history of our city and I think his reputation will continue to rise. I hope so.