Frank Styles completes new mural celebrating Black Cat hero Jimmy Montgomery
and live on Freeview channel 276
The artist has spent the past few weeks painstakingly creating the 10m by 15m artwork, which takes inspiration from real photos of Sunderland AFC’s cup glory.
It’s set to be a new landmark for the city at its location on the side of historic Times Inn pub in Southwick, just beneath the Queen Alexandra Bridge, and it’s believed it can be seen from the new Transport Corridor being built on the other side of the river.
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Hide AdFrank has created a number of murals in honour of footballing heroes, including Bobby Gurney on the side of The Golden Fleece in Silksworth and Raich Carter on the side of the Blue House pub in Hendon, which has been seen by millions through its use as a backdrop in Netflix series Sunderland ‘Til I Die.
The artist, who was born in the South East but has lived in Sunderland for a number of years, has become well-known for capturing the spirit of the city, from a mining tribute in Silksworth and a shipbuilding artwork at Panns Bank to a piece honouring the late Connor Brown in the city centre.
His latest creation was paid for by a Crowdfunding campaign started by new Times Inn landlord Steve Lawson, which raised £4,500 in just nine days. 10% of the donations were given to the city’s Veterans in Crisis cause.
Jimmy, affectionately known as Monty, was born and raised in Southwick and he’s already been along to view the mural, describing it as “absolutely brilliant.”