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Subject of Square:
Portrait of Edward Tuck
Quilter’s Name:
Christine Bushway
Background on subject:
Edward Tuck was born in Exeter, NH on August 24, 1842, to Sarah Ann Nudd and
political figure Amos Tuck. Amos Tuck was the son of John Tuck who was a
descendant of Robert Tucke one of Hampton’s first settlers in 1638.
The large, framed portrait that hangs over the fireplace mantle in the main room
of the Tuck Museum intrigued me. Who was this person and why was he given
such prominent billing here? Turns out Mr. Tuck donated funds to buy the house
and land that is now the Hampton Historical Society’s museum and park, which
appropriately was named the Tuck Museum. In addition, Edward Tuck generously
supported the Hampton Academy and high school as well as giving $10,000 in
1927 for the development of the sports facilities on town land for the youth of
Hampton, now known as Tuck Memorial Field. Clearly Edward Tuck was a
significant Hampton benefactor.
Why you chose this subject:
I chose to make a quilt block to depict Edward
Tuck because, I assume that many other
townspeople attend events in the big room
with his portrait but don’t know who he is or
why he’s remembered in such a grand way.
Thoughts on your representation/design/color choices/etc.:
After studying the Tuck portrait, I attempted
to duplicate it in fabric as close as possible
rather than simply abstractly creating a picture of a man. To do this I used actual
suiting material for his suit, and material from an actual shirt for his white shirt.
The tie I made from knotting a grey striped fabric. The hard part was capturing his
facial features in hand stitching - especially his handlebar mustache!
What you hope this quilt will mean for the people who see it:
I hope that our quilt will make people realize that they don’t know as much about
Hampton as they should and will motivate them to learn more. I also hope it will
make people realize that even in our high-tech world, old time skills such as
quilting can still be used to convey long unknown or forgotten stories.
Quilt Square 01-05 - Edward Tuck
