Stuart Walton (b. 1933) is a self-taught fine art painter, born in Dewsbury and raised in the Middleton area of Leeds. He showed artistic promise from a young age, winning art competitions whilst at school. However, being a ‘working class lad’, he took a job as a sign writer at Lewis’s, a department store in Leeds city centre.
In the 1970s, he gave up his job of Assistant Display Manager to paint full time. In 1975, he was appointed first Yorkshire Television Fine Arts Fellow.
His ‘northern industrial’ subject matter often contains repeated motifs; rows of red brick terraces, smoking chimneys, clothes drying on a washing line and Victorian street lamps.
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Stuart suffered from deteriorating eye sight forcing him to cease producing artworks. Thankfully, his eyesight has since been treated and Stuart continues to paint to this day.
Stewart Walton is a very talented artist who I used to work with in the Display Studio at Lewis’s on the Headrow in the late 60’s. He was producing at that time acrylics on canvas depicting old streets of Leeds mainly Holbeck, Armley, Beeston and Hunslet. Due to inner city re generation they were demolishing properties in these areas faster that Stewart could paint them so we got together to do some photo shoots. I took colour reversal pictures that Stewart was able to copy and between us we were able to make a considerable record. From a recollection of a person named ‘Kenneth’, Secret Leeds forum, August 2009
The Hepworth Wakefield and the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool hold examples of his work in their permanent collections.
You can purchase original vintage artworks and limited edition prints at auction and on eBay.
Additional image credits:
Artnet
