Tom the Butcher

Tom Recchiuti was proprietor of Tom’s Market, a butcher shop in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Goutman’s thick, sculptural application of paint expresses the physicality of Recchiuti’s profession. 

Joan Recchiuti Williams, Tom’s daughter, recalls, “Dolya was a personal friend of the family who frequented our store. The background of the painting is our glass-front walk-in box, as it was called. The facial features capture my dad perfectly. He always wore an apron and his hands were extremely large. Looking at this portrait, I feel like I’m looking at my dad. It brings back memories because I was a butcher, taught by my dad. As a teenager, I posed for some of Dolya’s classes.”

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