Henry Perlee Parker (1795-1873)
Henry Perlee Parker was born in Devonport, Plymouth. He started his career as a tailor and coachmaker but in 1814 married and settled down to become a full-time professional portrait painter. He didn't make much money portrait painting and decided to move North to stay with relatives in Sunderland. Parker's years in Newcastle saw him become one of the area's best known artists. He made important friendships with T M Richardson Snr and together they established the Northumberland Institution for the Promotion of the Fine Arts. Eventually Perlee Parker moved south to become drawing master at a college in Sheffield, and here he became known as 'Smuggler Parker' due to creating a number of paintings involving smugglers and their activities. Parker showed at the Royal Academy, but moved to London after losing employment at the college. In London, he continued to exhibit but only occasionally and seemed to live off income from his earlier career/prints. He outlived three wives dying in Shepherds Bush in 1873. An exhibition of Parker's work was held at the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle in 1969.
Paintings for sale by Henry Perlee Parker:
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