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Outlook: The secret genius of Uncle Eric

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Eric Tucker

03/06/2024 GMT

The secret genius of Uncle Eric

BBC World Service - Outlook, The secret genius of Uncle Eric

Fulfilling Eric Tucker’s dying wish – to show the world his brilliant, secret paintings

Eric Tucker painted in secret all of his life, his dying wish was for his work to be shown in a little gallery somewhere. His nephew Joe made that dream come true, spectacularly.

Joe Tucker has fond memories of his unconventional Uncle Eric. Eric lived most of his life with Joe's grandparents in a small terraced house in the north-west of England. He was a former boxer and it could seem that his main passion in later life was his daily trip to the betting shop. But he was also a self-taught painter - and it was only when he died at the age of 86 in July 2018, that his family found out his artwork had a story of its own. Joe's written a book about Eric Tucker.  It's called The Secret Painter.

When German archaeologist Harald Meller saw photos of a bronze-age metal disc illustrated with depictions of the stars and the sun, he knew immediately that it was very important - and that it could change everything we thought we knew about astronomy in the prehistoric era. There was just one snag: it was in the hands of the wrong people. Harald became the front man in a daring police operation to recover what would become known as the Nebra Sky Disc from the black market. This interview was first broadcast in 2022.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Jo Impey

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: Eric Tucker as a young man in Warrington_Date Unknown_Credit Estate of Eric Tucker)

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