Parkin

Gender:

Male

Date and place of birth:

Unknown

Date and place of death:

Unknown

Worked:

(fl) 1807-1820

Known places of work:

Colchester

Known techniques:

Painted on glass

Known materials:

Plain or convex glass

Frames:

Unknown

Signature:

Not Recorded

Introduction:

Boasting a one minute sitting for a profile and an hour for a miniature, Parkin was an itinerant painter known to have worked in Colchester and London. Currently, only two silhouettes from this artist have been discovered.

Two trade labels have been found on Parkin’s work. However, they do not make it clear whether they refer to Colchester or London. It has therefore been inferred that he journeyed frequently between the two places. Apart from this detail, nothing is known of Parkin’s life.

Parkin worked from a finger painted background, with the face shown in black hatching. He often used a marble-like effect to show transparency on women’s dresses, which in their detail were fashionable for the time. From trade label detail it is inferred that pieces for rings, brooches and lockets were produced, although works of this nature are still to come to light. There is no suggestion that these pieces were formed on ivory. The last known pieces by Parkin were sold in 1917 from the collection of Francis Wellesley.