Eric Tucker, a boxer and building labourer, was a private man who lived in the same house in Padgate for the majority of his life.
He hid his life’s work depicting northern working-class settings – which has been compared to LS Lowry – in his modest end-terrace home, and even his family had no idea of his talent.
While his family knew he enjoyed art, nobody knew the full extent of his extraordinary talent until one day in 2018.
It was shortly before his death that Eric confessed to his brother that he would have liked to have an exhibition for his work, leading to his family uncovering hundreds of stunning paintings from throughout his life, depicting working class life in the north west, and particularly in Warrington.
His family made a promise to him that they would try and arrange an exhibition of his work, and it was in 2018, shortly after he died aged 86, that the exhibition went ahead and launched Eric into the art world.
Nearly 500 exceptional paintings and sketches were uncovered in his house – with some even stored for safekeeping in compostable bags in an old air raid shelter in the garden.
‘Its News Time’ artwork by Eric Tucker
So far, Eric’s family have sold some of it for more than £750,000 at two previous Mayfair exhibitions.
A third exhibition was due to start on Friday, revealing some of the pieces of art which have never previously been showcased, ending on May 30.
It is estimated that sales from the exhibition will take the total amount the paintings have sold for to around the £1million-mark.
Eric’s nephew, Joe Tucker, 43, has written a book about his uncle, The Secret Painter, in which he dives into the unassuming manner in which the art was revealed by Eric’s brother, Joe’s father, Tony Tucker, 83.
Joe, a scriptwriter from Warrington, said: “It was very much his style to be almost chronically modest and unforthcoming with his talent.
“We knew that he liked to paint because he lived with my grandparents and never left home, and he liked to use their front room as a sort of painting room.
Eric kept his art masterpieces hidden throughout his life
“He made a comment to my dad, when he knew his life was coming to an end, that he would’ve loved to have had an exhibition in the local museum and gallery.
“My dad kind of thought ‘well, Eric, you could have mentioned this in the 84-and-a-half years prior’, but then he started to catalogue the paintings.
“He saw it at first as a task that needed to be done, but eventually he saw the astonishing quantity and quality of the work – he was so overwhelmed by it.
“In the end, I think we counted nearly 500 paintings in the house, not including innumerable drawers full of his drawings.”
The self-effacing style led to his nickname the secret Lowry and an international art world frenzy, with thousands flocking from across the country to his home on King George Crescent in Warrington to view his artwork over two days in October 2018.
An exhibition at Warrington Museum and Art Gallery, from November 2019 to February 2020, soon followed.
Between July and August 2021, a joint Mayfair exhibition across Alon Zakaim Fine Art Gallery and Connaught Brown Fine Art Gallery took place, and it became the fastest selling exhibition in either gallery’s history – completely selling out in the first 48 hours.
‘Lady with Pram, Gent with Shoping Trolley’ artwork by Eric Tucker
An almost equally successful second Mayfair exhibition in these two galleries was held in December 2022.
On the nickname, Joe said: “I don’t really know how influenced by Lowry he was really – but the comparison is kind of obvious given what he painted.
“I know that his favourite painter was an artist called Edward Borough, but I think he’d be very, very amused by it really.
“It’s hard to imagine him expressing too much about it, but I think he’d certainly feel some pride that his work has been recognised, but maybe also a bit of embarrassment.
“One of the things I was fascinated by writing the book was how he discovered art.
“Eric’s parents weren’t into art, there weren’t any art books in the house, they didn’t take him to galleries, and he wasn’t part of any local art group.
Joe Tucker at an exhibition of Eric Tucker’s work in London. Picture: SWNS
“It was absolutely something he found himself and pursued in a very solitary way, and that kind of withdrawn and unforthcoming nature has led to a mystique around it.
“He never even spoke to family about I,t and I look at some of the pieces and I can only speculate about why he decided to paint that or what he was thinking, which lends itself to a bit of mystery.
But Joe does recall his uncle providing at least some inspiration for his work.
He said: “I remember him telling me the greatest song ever written was Dirty Old Town by Ewan MacColl, which sums up his life – Eric was absolutely of that world.
“With this third and quite likely final exhibition in Mayfair, we want to sell the work as an act of preservation, as people will look after the paintings, but also to generate money for a trust to establish a legacy for him and his work.”
Joe’s biography and memoir of Eric and his life, The Secret Painter, was released in January 2025.
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