S. W. Reynolds after W. Owen

John Oxley Parker Esq.
Deputy Registrar to the Archdeaconeries of Essex, Middlesex and Colchester within the counties of Essex & Herts.

14 x 20 inches

This portrait is unusual in that the sitter has no aristocratic or regal pretensions, no military or maritime achievements and no great beauty. No, the reason that John Parker has had his portrait painted and a reproduction in mezzotint is that he notched up over 40 years of service as a registrar within the Church of England. The grateful clergy of Colchester and neighbouring diocese commissioned William Owen to paint a portrait of Parker and presented it to him in recognition of his services. Owen was an artist of great renown having painted both Pitt the Younger and the Prince of Wales so the archdeacons were not skimping on the gift! Samuel William Reynolds was the obvious choice when it came to producing a mezzotint copy of the painting and copies of his print would have hung in vestries throughout Essex and Hertfordshire.