‘Beautifully written, affectionate, witty and touching’
THE GUARDIAN

‘A timely reminder that art did not originate as an investment opportunity or a get-rich-quick scheme but as a way for human beings to make sense of their lives’
JARVIS COCKER

‘Beautifully written… The Secret Painter is a bracingly northern corrective to the metropolitan hype and verbiage that surrounds so much art’
THE OBSERVER

‘A heart-warming picture of an ordinary working-class man who achieved creative greatness… I couldn’t put this joyous book down!’
RUTH MILLINGTON

‘A real gem’
THE DAILY MAIL

‘Deadpan, witty and tender’
THE SPECTATOR

‘A moving account of how the creative imagination can flourish in the most inhospitable circumstances’
THE TELEGRAPH

‘Joe Tucker is a natural storyteller and The Secret Painter is a brilliant, engrossing read’
LEMN SISSAY

‘A book with steel in its heart… lays out the hypocrisy and snobbery of this country’s “cultural elite” with an enviable lightness of touch’
THE i PAPER

‘It was such a privilege to experience Eric’s world… I loved The Secret Painter’
CATHY RENTZENBRINK

'A warm, witty and honest book. [Joe Tucker] approaches his uncle’s life with all the love of a relative, but also the clear-eyed curiosity of a true biographer’
PROSPECT