We are delighted to welcome Joe Tucker to Deansgate, celebrating the paperback release of The Secret Painter: a fascinating biography of his beloved Uncle Eric, who quietly amassed over five hundred of his own remarkable paintings without anyone ever realising his achievements.In this touching, funny and thoughtful investigation of the nature of expression, the ownership of art and the hidden lives of those nearest to us, Joe Tucker brings us into his uncle's world - and brings Eric Tucker's life's work into ours.Joe joins us to discuss his late uncle's work and answer audience questions, followed by a signing.About The Secret PainterJoe Tucker's Uncle Eric was a beloved yet unconventional figure throughout his life. A shambolically dressed man who lived with his mother for almost eighty years, he appeared to exist only for daily trips to the bookie - and yet from front room of the family home he assembled compositions from memory and imagination. From the countless sketches he made on scraps of paper, and the magazines and newspapers he collected, all of his paintings were produced in this one, small room.Near the end of his life, he expressed a wish for an exhibition – leading his family to discover hundreds of paintings in his house, stacked up in bedrooms, in cupboards, on top of wardrobes and in the garden shed. In October 2018, three months after his death, they opened his house as a free gallery, attracting thousands of visitors and national press coverage.After his death, Joe's family began to ask questions about Eric's life: what had driven him to create so much yet share it so rarely?
