Author Event – The Secret Painter by Joe Tucker
Friday 28th November, 12 noon
In partnership with Waterstones Epsom, join us for a captivating afternoon with Joe Tucker, author of The Secret Painter — the remarkable biography of his Uncle Eric, affectionately known as the “Lowry of Warrington.”
Joe 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 had also quietly amassed over five hundred of his own remarkable paintings without anyone ever realising his achievements. 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?
In this touching, funny and thoughtful investigation of the nature of expression, the ownership of art and the secret life of those nearest to us, Joe Tucker brings us into his uncle’s world – and brings Eric Tucker’s life’s work into ours.
BBC Radio 4 book of the week July 2025 – Listen Here
Please note, signed copies of the book will be available to purchase on the day.
“A moving account of how the creative imagination can flourish in the most inhospitable circumstances.” The Telegraph
Joe Tucker originally trained as an animation director before becoming a television scriptwriter.
With his script writing partner, Lloyd Woolf, he has created and written the BBC shows Witless, Click & Collect and Black Ops.
