Author(s): Hermina Burns

General Biography

Much more than a muse; Barbara Tucker was in fact a vital partner in the artistic success of her famed husband.

Barbara Tucker- The Art of Being presents a multifaceted view of Tucker and the life she made with her artist husband Albert. Inspired by accounts of family, friends and admirers attending her memorial, it contains speeches, essays, memoirs and a photo journal.

Her nephew Darren Jones and niece Caitlin Graham-Jones give beautifully realised accounts; her godson, Justin O'Brien, rails against a world that seemed to ignore or misinterpret her life; her brother, Peter Bilcock, gives a moving eulogy. Judith Pugh's tribute evokes a marvellously vivid woman and loyal ally; Jinx Nolan's is filled with gratitude and gladness for Barbara's presence.

The collection contains contributions from Heide Museum of Modern Art and other institutions that benefited from her foresight and generosity.

Tucker emerges not just as a woman bound by the role prescribed in her times, but as a complex person with a great gift for friendship, as well as an artist's advocate, agent, defender and facilitator who should carry her own story, independently and unobscured, alongside the story of Albert Tucker and art in Australia.