Judith Tucker

Dr. Judith Tucker, 1960 – 2023

We are deeply saddened to hear of the loss of artist Judith Tucker. Judith won the Scenes From Everyday Life Prize, as part of Jackson’s Painting Prize 2020, with her painting Why Destroy A Thing Of Beauty. In an interview with Clare McNamara for the Jackson’s Art Blog, Judith explained the painting was one of a series of works about the Humberstone Fitties, one of the last remaining functional plotlands in the UK representing the threatened phenomenon of urban working-class owned rural space. ‘The work considers, in the shadow of recent dramatic political changes, how notions of place and identity are constructed on domestic and larger scales, as reflected by the play on flags and other indications of Englishness.’ Judith’s work is hugely evocative of dark, brooding nightscapes, peppered with hints of identity and our intrinsic need for a sense of belonging.

Aside from being a brilliant painter, Judith was a generous teacher in her capacity as Senior Lecturer in the School of Design, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures at the University of Leeds. She was also Director of Research and Innovation: Culture and Impact in the School, and vice-chair of Contemporary British Painting, a platform for contemporary painting in the UK.

Judith leaves a lasting legacy of being a staunch supporter of visual art and emerging artists, as well as a vast collection of paintings that shone a light on human behaviour, plant life, the characteristics of society and evocations of English identity. We send our condolences to her family and friends.