Walter Kershaw (7 December 1940 – 6 September 2026) was an English artist in oils and watercolours who is best known for his large scale, external, mural paintings in Northern England and the Americas.Bob Stanley (21 September 2012) Walter Kershaw: 'Britain's first graffiti artist', The Guardian. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
Background
Kershaw was the only son of Florence Kershaw (née Ward) (1916–2010), a retired school caterer; and Walter Kershaw (1917–1998), who served in the Royal Air Force (1936–1946) at Duxford, achieving the rank of Flight Sergeant. He had two younger sisters. Kershaw attended De La Salle College, Salford from 1951 to 1958; and was later a student under the tutelage of Victor Pasmore, Richard Hamilton and Lawrence Gowing at King's College, Durham University (now part of Newcastle University) from 1958 to 1962, graduating with a BA Honours in Fine Art. Kershaw has been twice married and divorced and is the father of twins (one son and one daughter) with Gillian Halliwell.
After graduating Kershaw taught at Bury Arts and Crafts Centre but has always primarily been self-employed and continued to work from his studio in Littleborough until his incarceration in 2021. His early large external murals painted on slum properties alongside his provocative public sculptures attracted much media attention throughout the '70s and early '80s. He was featured in interviews with Melvyn Bragg, Anna Ford (for Granada TV); Sue MacGregor (on BBC Radio 4); as a guest of Janet Street-Porter (on London Weekend Television); and also alongside Eric Morecambe on Russell Harty's BBC Two chat show.
George Best was a good friend of Kershaw's and purchased six large drawings and oil paintings from the artist. He also found support in Bob Monkhouse who not only purchased his paintings but also corresponded with him and promoted Kershaw's work on his BBC Radio 2 show.
Ian Potts of the BBC, then a student at the Polytechnic of Central London made a film about Kershaw's work called The First Graffiti Artist. It went on to win the best student film award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Kershaw's work can be found in public collections worldwide including Bury Art Museum, Salford Museum and Art Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Arts Council, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the National Collection of Brazilian Art in São Paulo.
Kershaw died at Leighton House Retirement Home in Rochdale, on 6 September 2026, aged 85.
Controversies and incarceration In March 2013, Kershaw at the age of 72, pleaded guilty to assaulting an acquaintance the previous year and was fined and given a 12-month conditional discharge.
Kershaw was also the subject of two year restraining order in December 2013. Since 2009 he had received a number of warnings from the police for harassment of Catherine Mitchell, a former life model, with whom he had a brief relationship in 2006.
In 2015 after repeated warnings, Kershaw was banned for life from contacting Miss Mitchell under the terms of another restraining order, but he continued to accost Miss Mitchell in the years that followed, and appeared before the courts repeatedly for breaching the order. In 2021 he was finally imprisoned for a term of four years.
Selected exhibitions and critical reception Major group and solo shows include Bear Lane Gallery, Oxford (1962); Salford Art Gallery (1969); House of Commons (1972); and "Lancashire South of the Sands", which toured from the County and Regimental Museum, Preston (1988)
1964: Avgarde Gallery, Manchester. First solo show. Review by Robert Waterhouse in The Guardian
1969: Salford Art Gallery. Review by Merete Bates in The Guardian
1971: North-West Gallery Art Service (touring). Review by Merete Bates in The Guardian
1972: Salford Art Gallery. Review by Merete Bates in The Guardian
1990: Salford Art Gallery. "From Rochdale to Rio". Review by Robert Clark in The Guardian
Selected works
Paintings
Kershaw has travelled extensively and his work (drawings, watercolours, oil paintings and some photos) can be put into series; for example: 1964 to present day: The Algarve 1974: San Francisco / Oakland 1987–1994: Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru 1993: Pacific Islands Other works include: YearPaintingMediumHolding InstitutionDimensionsAcquisitionc. 1969View over RochdaleOil on boardBury Art MuseumH 77 x W 88 cmPurchasedc. 1970Highway Chile, M62Oil on hardboardSalford Museum & Art GalleryH 120 x W 174 cmPurchased from artistc. 1971Rochdale Arts FestivalAcrylic on canvasTouchstones RochdaleH 123 x W 123 cmGift from the Amateur Societiesc. 1971Nude in a Polythene InteriorOil on boardTowneley Hall Art Gallery & MuseumH 61 x W 91.4 cmPurchasedc. 1974Fiddlers FerryOil on canvasMuseum of LancashireH 115 x W 115 cmPurchased from artistc. 2009Trafford Park MuralOil on plywoodWaterside Arts Centre, SaleH 193 x W 183 cmCommissionedunknownScrum-Half and Prop ForwardOil on boardUniversity of SalfordH 121.5 x W 91 cmPurchasedunknownReady Steady GoOil on boardUniversity of SalfordH 120 x W 120 cmPurchased
Murals Murals and street art are the medium Kershaw is best known for. Many were painted onto gable-ends of Victorian terraces in the Greater Manchester region and almost all of the early examples have now been demolished or lost through redevelopment. Kershaw always accepted the ephemeral nature of these pieces and often deliberately selected condemned properties as the canvas of his choice. In addition to the giant murals he also painted a number of neglected bridges in the Burnley, Bury and Rochdale areas which led to cease and desist type letters from the local authorities who were more concerned with ongoing costs to maintain such bold colour schemes as opposed to the aesthetic. Kershaw often painted these very early on Sunday mornings when few witnesses were around and these are now considered an early example of guerrilla art. +YearMuralLocationOther people involvedCommissioned byNotes1972Giant PansiesRamsay Street, RochdalePainted jointly with Anne KellyDemolishedc.1973Madonna with ChildKay Street, BuryDemolishedc.1973King George V - Great Western Locomotive muralParsons Lane South Car Park BuryDemolished1974SpitfireHornby Street / North Street, BuryEric Kean, Graham Cooper, Paul O'Reilly and Olive FrithDemolished1974Alvin StardustManchester Road, HeywoodPainted jointly with Eric Kean, assisted by Paul O'Reilly and Susan O'ReillyFilmed by Granada TV with Alvin Stardust signing the piece. Since demolished1974Public urinalsHalifax Road / Wardleworth Place, RochdalePainted jointly with Linda GarnerDemolished1974Landscape muralLittleborough, Rochdale1975CondorCondor Ironworks, Library Lane / Featherstall Road North, OldhamEric Kean, Graham Cooper, Paul O'Reilly and Olive FrithFunded with £250 from GMC153 feet long. Since demolished1975Toyshed muralNursery School, Brimrod, Rochdale1975Fulledge Community Centre muralBrunshaw, BurnleyThe Mid-Pennine Association for the Arts1976Inside-Out House53 Derby Street, RochdaleTony Smart (the Tretchikoff), Stewart Dawson (the ornaments) Arnold Solomon (the wallpaper stencils/designs), Peter Dent (the kitchen). Assisted by Olive FrithBBC TwoFilmed for BBC Two's Terra Firma series. Since demolished1977North Western Museum of Science & Industry muralOddfellows Hall, Grosvenor Street, ManchesterDesigned by Kenneth BillyardSite redeveloped1978The Caledonian muralBury Market1979Magic carpet scene mural and bollardsRochdaleDemolished1979Norwich school muralUnknown school, NorwichPeter DentFunded with £250 Arts Council grant80 feet long1982The Trafford Park mural (v1)East wall of Victoria Warehouse, Trafford ParkAssisted by John Abbot, Hilary Cooper and Brigitte Streich (née Curtis)Trafford Park Planning DepartmentFilmed by the BBC for Nationwide. Unveiled by Denis Law. Replaced by v2 in 19931983Life in BrazilCorner of Armando Alvares Penteado St. and Avaré St., Higienopolis, São PauloAssisted by Hilary Cooper and 26 FAAP studentsThe British Council and Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado (FAAP)Filmed by Rede Globo, Brazil1983Avro / British Aerospace muralCanteen, BAe factory, Chadderton, OldhamPainted jointly with Peter DentNews report on Look North West1985Recife Metro mosaic muralsEstação Central do Metrô, Rua Floriano Peixoto, RecifeRecife Metro3 mosaic murals for the inauguration of the Recife Metro1985Cultura Inglesa muralAv. Santo Amaro 6781, São PauloThe British Council and Cultura InglesaLost1985Norwich ImagesWensum Lodge, 169 King Street, NorwichAssisted by Ian StarsmoreFilmed for Anglia TV's Folio series1985Hollingworth Lake Visitor Centre muralHollingworth Lake, LittleboroughRecreation and Arts Committee, RochdaleApprox. 33 feet x 10 feet1988Manchester United F.C. muralsOld Trafford, ManchesterResearched by Cliff Butler; designed by Peter DentUnveiled by Sir Matt Busby, Martin Edwards and Sir Alex Ferguson1988The Liverpool and Manchester Railway muralPainted jointly with Peter DentModified 20021993The Trafford Park mural (v2)East wall of Victoria Warehouses, Trafford ParkAssisted by Jennie Lewis, Julie Nuttall, Adelia Villa and Stuart DawsonTrafford Park Planning Department64 feet wide x 75 feet high, removed 20071996Sarajevo Winter Festival muralHasan Kikić School, SarajevoMurals by Andrea Tierney, Gillian Halliwell, Jack Lewis and Walter KershawAustrian Embassy in SarajevoFilmed for Bosnian TV1996After the BombArndale Centre, ManchesterPainted jointly with Gillian HalliwellArndale management and P&OManchester themed on temporary MDF shuttering to disguise bomb damage1997History of Ashton-under-LyneShopping Centre, Ashton-under-LynePainted jointly with Gillian HalliwellShopping centre management2006Lancaster Bomber muralCanteen, BAe Woodford, Cheshire60 feet x 20 feet2012Littleborough Coach House signLodge Street, Littleborough2014Lilac Mill muralBeal Lane, ShawAssisted by Suzanne RobinsonJD Williams mail order companyFor the 100 year anniversary of Lilac Mill2014Dulwich Outdoor Gallery muralBellenden Road / Choumert Road, PeckhamPainted jointly with Peter SethDulwich Picture Gallery2015North Woolwich muralNorth WoolwichIngrid Beazley, Peter Seth and Richard DentCrossrail and The Richard Griffini Gallery
Sculpture In 1970 Kershaw was commissioned to design both the front and rear doors for a new Roman Catholic church in Longsight, Manchester. Cast in aluminium, they depicted the creation of the Universe and the Apocalypse. The doors were complemented by a stained glass window by fellow Rochdale artist Chris Burnett. Located at the intersection of Hamilton Road and Montgomery Road, the church of Saint Robert of Newminster was demolished in 2004.
Other pieces include: c.1964: Etruscan Warrior c.1967: Fantasy c.1968: Aurora (Glass-fibre resin) c.1969: West Pennine Woman (fibreglass) c.1969: Bodyrock (fibreglass) c.1969: Incandescent (cardboard and fibreglass) c.1970: Prime Cuts (fibreglass)
Appearances
Television and film 1974: (11 October) Featured in a segment by Martin Young for Nationwide, BBC One 1976: Terra Firma series on BBC Two. Half-hour documentary commissioned by BBC Two for Kershaw to paint a mural on a gable end in Deeplish, Rochdale 1976: The First Graffiti Artist. Half-hour documentary with fantasy interludes, on Kershaw's early murals. Produced and directed by Ian Potts, at that time a film student at the Polytechnic of Central London. Ian Potts now works in the Historical Film Department at the BBC in London. The film won best student film category at the Cannes Film Festival, (available from NW Film Archives in Manchester). Youtube Mid 70's: Guest appearance for Janet Street Porter when she was a presenter for LWT 1982: (19 October) Interviewed by Martin Henfield for BBC's regional Look North West programme 1982: (4 November) Guest appearance on Russell Harty's BBC Two chat show alongside Eric Morecambe