Find that thrilled the art world

STANDING in a Warrington storage unit, I wasn’t expecting much. I am often asked to cast an eye over an artist’s work but it usually ends in disappointment.

However, as I uncovered painting after painting of Eric Tucker’s collection, it became clear that I had come across something very special.

Eric was self-taught yet he had an incredible talent that I could see had developed through the years.

He has been compared to Lowry, but while Lowry was looking from afar, Eric was right there, living among the people he was painting.

His use of composition is incredible. In one painting, One Eyed Woman, he tells a story purely through eye contact.

People are looking at each other but, as you look, you realise the focus is on one woman, and when you look, you suddenly realise she has one eye.

Along with Lowry, there are also echoes of the painter Edward Burra, a British painter who travelled to America and depicted intimate scenes of working life in New York. In fact, Eric had a catalogue of Burra’s work in his home and it is clear he was an influence.

The discovery of Eric’s talent has thrilled the art world. When the exhibition of his work opened in Warrington earlier this month, there were representatives from major museums and the Arts Council. A critic from the New York Times even flew over.

We need time to assess these works but I expect they will sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds.

There’s no doubt this is a significant discovery for modern British art history.