TUCKER BOBST
August 8, 1923 ~ January 23, 2008
Tucker Bobst touched many lives through his art, friendship, philanthropy and love.
Please take a moment and share a memory, thought or even a photo of ‘BOBST’ art from your collection.
More about Tucker can be found at www.TuckerBobst.com
WELCOME FRIENDS!
I am Tucker’s niece and I created this blog and a website as a tribute to Tucker. I hope folks will contribute and share information for all to view and learn more about my beloved Uncle. In the coming days I’ll share a few stories of my own as well as photos of my own pieces of cherished ‘Bobst’ art! I welcome your input for the burgeoning website as well, so please feel free to contact me via email at: shirleyxo@hotmail.com
Thank you.
Shirley Wolf (Portsmouth, NH)
With Love & Peace to Tucker (& Richard)
RIchard and Tucker moved into our neighborhood about 3 years ago, and directly into our hearts at the same time.
Neighbors who didn’t know each other are now the best of friends and now we have a new circle of friends that are friends of Richard and Tucker’s.
I got especially close to Tucker after Richard died.
I am so glad to have the Cd of the radio interview to have their voices forever and I am so glad that Tucker got one last trip to Paris. I will be forever grateful to Ron and Habiba for sharing that with him. THe Dvd of pictures from the trip is incredible.
I have never known anyone like RIchard and Tucker and I envy all of you who had so much time with them, but I do cherish the short time when our paths crossed. I will never be the same. Thank you RIchard and Tucker for all that you taught me, for the love that you gave me, I will never forget you. I love you both and am so glad you are together in heaven getting it ready for the rest of us.
Sister Mary Ashley
It is exactly a week today since you left. I know you are in heaven and with Richard, and that you two are watching over all of us who really miss you.
You know how emotional I am, we cried together many times, but we laughed together all the time.
I am so grateful to have met you and spent time with you, and I will never forget you.It is up to us who are left behind, to carry on spreading the love and encouragement like you did. I love you.
Sister Mary
We are long time friends of Richard and Tucker and were fortunate to spend a few moments with him just prior to his departure. There was no gentler soul nor more talented artist than Tucker. We feel priviledged to have enjoyed his friendship and to relish the wonderful memories of our times with him.
In my home hangs a very large painting created by Tucker which has exquisitely rendered images and symbols, as one finds in all of his work. And as is often the case, the background of this painting contains words – the following excerpt from a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay (from “ A Few Figs from Thistles” 1920): “My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; but ah, my foes, and oh, my friends – It gives a lovely light.”
In the midst of the drama and the intensity that was the life of R & T, we could always depend upon Tucker to infuse each experience with a laugh or a note of compassion. I will forever honor his zeal for life, and the light and the spirit that he brought into the lives of all he touched.
Tucker Bobst and Richard Malloy have always been our mentors for a good relationship. Both had told us over 10 years ago when we met them that every couple needs a pet and a house picked out by both. Well, we did that 3 years ago and can only thank them for their great advice. Our relationship has never been better. While both Tucker and Richard were unique individuals, as a couple they were the epitomy of a relationship. Tucker was not only a great artist, a fantastic cook, a super loyal companion, and a true friend, he will always be like no other. With a tear and a smile he will forever be remembered dancing on the clouds of heaven with Richard. Make room Fred and Ginger, you have competition.
Tucker had an amazing “winning spirit”! He always had a smile on his face and a huge personality that drew people to him.
His artwork left its viewers in awe, tugging at one’s emotions and intellect.
Tucker was an inspirtaion to me always encouraging me in my own artwork.
After my mother passed in 2003 he sent his condolences. He had met her several times and sometime after we had a conversation over the phone and he sensed my loss. He told Richard that he wanted to come and be with me. I was also showing some of his work in my gallery in Kentucky. He came for a long weekend which did my heart good. People in Kentucky that had the privledge of meeting him….still ask about him.
I will always have a special place in my heart for dear Tucker.
Tucker’s motto was, “Never complain. Never explain.” I am so glad that we bought one of his masterpieces. I knew better than to ask him what it meant, because I had heard him answer that question.
“It means whatever you want it to mean,” he loudly admonished. “If I could explain it in words, there would have been no need to paint it.”
I once asked him how he achieved those patterns that were at once the background and the foreground of many of his paintings. He said, with some vehemence, “Meticulously, meticulously.”
We had a vodka tonic, or two, in his honor.
He was, like Richard, a very secular person. I think he would have found the notion of him participating in an afterlife to be very amusing. But you never really die, as long as someone remembers you. By that measure, Tucker will live a very long time.
Jan Eliassen
Tucker was one of my favorite people, ever. Kind, loving, talented, opinionated, hysterically funny, he must have brought pleasure to every person he met. It didn’t matter if you were the girl at the grocery checkout or Angela Lansbury; everyone felt touched and loved by Tucker.
Anyone who knew him knew he hated the telephone–”Hated it!,” I can hear him echo in the background–and he either ignored it or passed it immediately to Richard. This changed in the last year of his life. He still wasn’t in love with the phone, but he realized he had to use it to stay in touch with friends. And once he started using it, he never ended a call without saying “I love you,” or even better, “I love you very much.”
Did he ever–he loved everyone. And I am so thankful he had so many loving friends around him at the end. And Shirley–thank you for this site and for choosing that great picture of him.
My encounter with Richard and Tucker was very brief. It was remarkable for me and forever memorable as it opened a door to a whole new life and way of thinking and being.
I first met Richard while he was in the hospital. I walked in the room and saw a man so close to death yet more alive than you could ever imagine. Those EYES…peircing with personality. He filled the room. It was just Bruce, Tucker, and I. That room felt so crowed. And I felt naked. As he lay there dying…he was still bigger than life.
Tucker on the otherhand was LOVE in a box. Such a gentle giant. He was like a soft cushion. You just wanted to hug him all the time. And a true artist. The last time I saw Tucker he had us rearrange the flowers in his hospital room. They were a couple of inches off. I knew he was still there.
These two soles highlighted the best in each other and it’s those highlights and their connection that I will always remember.
Such a lose….but what a gift.
Haiku in Honor of Tucker by Syndney Brooks
Written on January 23,2008 -There was a full moon that night.
Our Tucker has gone
Now,guided by the moonlight,
On, to better things.
My Tucker is gone.
1, 2 3 wouldn’t you know
That’s, when you would go?
Most fortunate am I
To have met charming Tucker-
A wonderful friend
The first gift you gave …
A smooth, black stone, then laughter,
Friendship, kindness, love.
Gentlemen, friend, host
Artist, creator, mentor
Handsome, kind, Tucker. And so much more!
As anyone submitting comments would attest, knowing Tucker (and Richard) has enriched our lives.
My story spans four generations:
In the days immediately following the Second World War there was considerable hardship being experienced in England. Essentials were hard to come by and luxuries out of the question. In typical fashion, Richard and Tucker wanted to find a way to help. Through a mutual friend they made contact with my grandmother (Kathleen) who was a recently widowed mother, struggling to bring up her 14 year daughter Mary (my mom), ‘adopted’ her and assisted with care packages. Their kindness, love and friendship has endured through the years. Over the years they made several trips to Europe and one of the highlights of Kathleen’s life was to finally meet these wonderful people some 20 years later – 40 years ago for me (damn , I feel old).
As I now live in Canada, Vivian and I have been fortunate enough to have visited them in several of their many locations over the years, celebrate their 50th and 60th anniversaries and have our own children come to know and love them.
Richard, the showman and Tucker the reflective one, always there as we endured life’s ups and downs. You gave so much to us all!!
Dearly loved, sorely missed.
Tom and Vivian Carter (surrogate Nephew and Niece)
My first encounter with Tucker Bobst was his obituary in the Philadelphia Inquirer last Sunday. I was immediately drawn to his smiling face and after reading the obituary had such a strong feeling of “I wish I had known Tucker and Richard”. What an amazing love story! They are truly an example to any couple who wants a long, committed relationship.
We were supposed to have lunch with Tucker the day after he went into the hospital. What horrible timing – we didn’t get to spend any time with him after we all lost Richard. I was so looking forward to laughing and crying with him. I directed Richard’s play “Pound of Flesh” in Los Angeles and we became fast friends. The four of us spent many happy hours with them with delicious food, wonderful animals and witty conversations. They were a great inspiration to anybody who loved food, animals, words and love.
Dear Nancy Binder,
What you experienced by seeing Tucker’s smiling face, and reading their story and wishing you had known them, I truly understand. I wish I had known them longer!
I spent alot of time with TUcker after Richard died, and got very close to him. He was truly one of the most amazing people I have ever known. THe circle of friends they have had, and still have is amazing. Any place they lived, became a neighborhood of friendship and caring (and parties). Both men were incredible, and I feel so fortunate to have crossed paths with them. The only way that I feel peace, is knowing they are together in heaven.They will always be missed and loved. Welcome to RIchard and Tucker’s circle of friends. Mary Ashley
I feel like I have known Tucker all my life. He was a dear friend of my grandmother, Lois who exhibited his artwork in her gallery. I had the good fortune to be invited to visit the Virginia home and spend the night. I was treated to a delicious meal al fresco on the deck and a lovely brunch in the morning, replete with Richard’s delicious bloody marys. The highlight of my visit was a personal tour of the studio where I chose my fourth Bobst work of art, the Red Orbiter (undated). It was this tour that inspired my purchase of Hornbill, painted in 1981. My first is a family portrait that was commissioned by my grandmother in 1964, which hangs in the stairwell that I pass each night when I go up to bed. The second is Waiting Game, 2002 that I purchased at his show at the University City Arts League, winning out over the owners of Unibroue, the brewers of Fin du Monde beer. I was thrilled that Tucker and Richard stayed with me during a weekend trip to Philadelphia and that they invited me to dinner at Ron and Habiba’s lovely hideaway. I will miss you – lots of love to you and Richard. Lori
I bought a painting I believe was painted by Tucker Bobst at a garage sale over 20 years ago. I didn’t think it was by anyone famous I just like the religious connotation of the piece. It is of a young boy holding different objects pertaining to the crucifixion. The painting has Bobst sig. but was dated 1951. Would anyone have any info. on this painting. Thanks Pete
We’ve been missing R & T and Bernadette since they left High Knob Mt. in Linden several years ago. We moved in across the street from their weekend mountain retreat on Bridle Path Rd.. We loved them immediately! They kept us entertained and we looked forward to their visits. They were a force to be reckoned with and are sorely missed.
Lee, Tim & Pat Bucher
[...] Please sign the ‘Tucker Bobst Remembered’ guestbook. [...]
Richard and Tucker entered my life in 1988 when I moved to Washington, DC (from Thailand). I finally moved away from the DC area in 1997 (to Hawaii & back to Thailand). Since that time hand written letters kept us in touch with each other until the last letter from Tucker in early January 2008. I’m so very, very fortunate to have several pieces of Tucker’s finest works of art–”The Bola Box” being one of them–I believe it’s one of his finest! I miss them both–R & T– very much; they continue to be so inspirational to my journey through life. Please feel free to contact me–I’d love to share my R & T stories! With everlasting memories…thank you always–I’m so honored to have known Richard and Tucker.
I have an original Bobst art piece and am interested in gaining information about it if at all possible. I would welcome any response. THanks
HI….did you know Tucker Bobst?
Which piece do you have?
Rick
I first met Tucker when he an Richard had there place in Tolchester Maryland ,I was doing some roof work on their house. They were not going to be there while we were doing the work but insisted we use the house to have our lunch , come in out of the cold and use the bathroom. Such trust struck me and told me these were good people. About 25 years later I worked at a paper (The Tidewater Trader) Richard and Tucker came into my office to advertise with me and I remembered their kindness all those years ago. I grew to know them over the next couple of years . What fine and interesting folks they were. You knew you were in the presence of greatness when around them. I feel extremely fortunate to have known them and to have been effected by the level of love and dedication they had for each other. I am so proud to say I have three of Tuckers master pieces in my home. The world is less without them in it however it is better because they were in it , Sincerely George Kennedy , Sr.
My ex husband and I purchased our first house in Annapolis from Tucker and Richard just as we were getting married. They were wonderful to us as I was transitioning from the Philadelphia area and aclamating to a new life in Annapolis. They had relocated from Philadelphia and had wonderful stories to tell about the theatre people who stayed with them in many of their different homes.
Tucker was always so sensitive and very conscious of other’s feelings. We always loved to talk about how much fun we had knowing them and spending time with them as we purchased their home.
Although I have not seen them for a number of years, we stayed in touch for some time after our original meeting and they will be missed.
May you both enjoy a continued loving live together in your next life.
Vicki Harrison 9/25/2010