Tucker, Marcia 1940-2006

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born April 11, 1940, in New York, NY; died October 17, 2006, in Santa Barbara, CA. Museum curator and author. Tucker was the founder of the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City. She graduated from Connecticut College in 1961 with a B.A. in art and theater, having also studied for a year at the École du Louvre. Working briefly as a secretary for the Museum of Modern Art, she was an assistant to painter René Bouche from 1962 to 1963, and curator for the William N. Copley Collection until 1966. While still in the latter job, she completed an M.A. at New York University. Tucker was an editorial associate at ARTnews in the late 1960s and also studied for, but never completed, her doctorate. Hired by the Whitney Museum of American Art as an associate curator in 1969, Tucker was promoted to curator of painting and sculpture in 1973. Bad reviews of an exhibition she organized for the artist Richard Tuttle caused her to be dismissed in 1977. Undaunted, Tuttle founded the New Museum of Contemporary Art that same year. Very open-minded and willing to take risks, she liked to display works by artists who were unpopular, unfashionable, or unable to find other places to exhibit because of racial, ethnic, or sexual orientation prejudices. At times, her willingness to be controversial was problematic. A show called "Have You Attacked America Today?" drew public outrage and vandalism against the museum. Many of her colleagues, however, admired her courage and commitment to exploring the diversity of modern art that should be made available to the public for viewing. She resigned as director of her museum in 1999, denying that her decision was due to disagreements with the board of directors. Running the museum was not the most profitable of businesses, and Tucker supported herself over the years by working as a freelance art cataloger, as well as guest lecturing at universities and art schools. She also published a number of art books and catalogs, including Paradise Lost/Paradise Regained: American Visions of the New Decade (1984), Markus Raetz: In the Realm of the Possible (1988), and Bad Girls (1994). A free spirit in her spare time as well as professionally, Tucker performed a stand-up comic routine, sang with the Art Mob a capella group, and was rumored to have been a member of the feminist group known as the Guerilla Girls. Toward the end of her life, Tucker suffered from cancer, though the cause of her death was not officially provided to reporters.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Los Angeles Times, October 27, 2006, p. B11.

New York Times, October 19, 2006, p. A27.