Horace Tuck
Encyclopedia
Horace Tuck was a prolific Norfolk
artist
and vice-principal of Norwich School of Art
.
in England
, Horace Tuck also travelled to Franc
e (particularly Dinan
in Brittany
), the Lake District
and other parts of Britain on painting expeditions. Tuck's work was regularly exhibited in Norwich
(he was a member of the Norwich Art Circle) and in London
galleries, including in Bond Street
. Apart from his earliest works, his paintings tend not to be dated. He trained at Norwich School of Art, where he became friendly with Alfred Munnings
, and at Borough Road Training College, Isleworth
, West London.
Horace Tuck also illustrated books on local subjects, including Inns and Taverns of Old Norwich. His wife, Elizabeth Mary, known as Bessie, was originally one of his pupils and an artist in her own right. They were married in 1910 and lived in Branksome Road, Norwich, until Tuck retired in 1939. They then moved to Sheringham
, on the Norfolk coast, where Tuck continued to paint until his death aged 75. His widow Bessie died in 1965, and there are memorials to her and to her husband at St Faiths Crematorium near Norwich. They had no children although, inspired by his example, descendants of one of Tuck's sisters have pursued artistic careers.
Horace Tuck's paintings have occasionally turned up at auction in the past, but a recently discovered collection of around 200 of his paintings and a major exhibition in Holt, Norfolk
in 2006 (with another scheduled for early March 2008) has created a considerable amount of renewed interest in the artist, whose images often capture a rural and idyllic Norfolk of times gone by. His later style has been compared by Simon Butler (in Lost Norfolk Landscapes: Paintings by Horace Tuck) to the work of British artists Ivon Hitchens
and Paul Nash
, suggesting that, despite Tuck's conventional choice of subject matter, he was not immune to the influences of modernism
. Some of his works are in the collection of the Norwich Castle
Museum and Art Gallery.
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and vice-principal of Norwich School of Art
Norwich School of Art & Design
Norwich University College of the Arts is a higher education specialist art, design and media university college, based on a single site in the centre of Norwich, in the United Kingdom.-History:...
.
Biography
Mainly a painter of oil and watercolour landscapes of his native NorfolkNorfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Horace Tuck also travelled to Franc
Franc
The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the Swiss franc, still a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions and the former currency of France, the French franc until the Euro was adopted in 1999...
e (particularly Dinan
Dinan
Dinan is a walled Breton town and a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in northwestern France.-Geography:Its geographical setting is exceptional. Instead of nestling on the valley floor like Morlaix, most urban development has been on the hillside, overlooking the river Rance...
in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
), the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
and other parts of Britain on painting expeditions. Tuck's work was regularly exhibited in Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
(he was a member of the Norwich Art Circle) and in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
galleries, including in Bond Street
Bond Street
Bond Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London that runs north-south through Mayfair between Oxford Street and Piccadilly. It has been a fashionable shopping street since the 18th century and is currently the home of many high price fashion shops...
. Apart from his earliest works, his paintings tend not to be dated. He trained at Norwich School of Art, where he became friendly with Alfred Munnings
Alfred Munnings
Sir Alfred James Munnings KCVO, PRA was known as one of England's finest painters of horses, and as an outspoken enemy of Modernism...
, and at Borough Road Training College, Isleworth
Isleworth
Isleworth is a small town of Saxon origin sited within the London Borough of Hounslow in west London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane. Isleworth's original area of settlement, alongside the Thames, is known as...
, West London.
Horace Tuck also illustrated books on local subjects, including Inns and Taverns of Old Norwich. His wife, Elizabeth Mary, known as Bessie, was originally one of his pupils and an artist in her own right. They were married in 1910 and lived in Branksome Road, Norwich, until Tuck retired in 1939. They then moved to Sheringham
Sheringham
Sheringham is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, west of Cromer.The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban District Council, is Mare Ditat Pinusque Decorat, Latin for "The sea enriches and the pine adorns"....
, on the Norfolk coast, where Tuck continued to paint until his death aged 75. His widow Bessie died in 1965, and there are memorials to her and to her husband at St Faiths Crematorium near Norwich. They had no children although, inspired by his example, descendants of one of Tuck's sisters have pursued artistic careers.
Horace Tuck's paintings have occasionally turned up at auction in the past, but a recently discovered collection of around 200 of his paintings and a major exhibition in Holt, Norfolk
Holt, Norfolk
Holt is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is north of the city of Norwich, west of Cromer and east of King's Lynn. The town is on the route of the A148 King's Lynn to Cromer road. The nearest railway station is in the town of Sheringham where access to the...
in 2006 (with another scheduled for early March 2008) has created a considerable amount of renewed interest in the artist, whose images often capture a rural and idyllic Norfolk of times gone by. His later style has been compared by Simon Butler (in Lost Norfolk Landscapes: Paintings by Horace Tuck) to the work of British artists Ivon Hitchens
Ivon Hitchens
Ivon Hitchens was an English painter who started exhibiting during the 1920s. He became part of the 'London Group' of artists and exhibited with them during the 1930s. His house was bombed in 1940 during World War II, at which point he moved to a caravan on a patch of woodland near Petworth in...
and Paul Nash
Paul Nash (artist)
Paul Nash was a British landscape painter, surrealist and war artist, as well as a book-illustrator, writer and designer of applied art. He was the older brother of the artist John Nash.-Early life:...
, suggesting that, despite Tuck's conventional choice of subject matter, he was not immune to the influences of modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
. Some of his works are in the collection of the Norwich Castle
Norwich Castle
Norwich Castle is a medieval royal fortification in the city of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk. It was founded in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest of England when William the Conqueror ordered its construction because he wished to have a fortified place in the important city of...
Museum and Art Gallery.