Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 3

Karl Parsons
Head of a Young Woman

1907

About the Item

Karl Parsons English 1884 - 1934 Head of a Young Woman Graphite on paper Signed and dated '(19)07' lower left Image size: 6 1/4 x 8 1/2 inches (16 x 21.5 cm) Contemporary Pre-Raphaelite style frame One of Britain's leading stained glass designers during the early decades of the 20th century, Karl Parsons drew portraits invariably for pleasure rather than commissions, throughout his life, and it is in these that one sees most clearly the influence of some of the artists whom he most admired, notably Botticelli, Rossetti and Burne-Jones. Though harkening back to these illustrious forebears, both technically and compositionally, this portrait also epitomises the type of portraiture that was fashionable in British high society at the start of the 20th century. Karl Parson's technique here, with delicate shading and strong outlines, is certainly comparable to Gerald Leslie Brockhurst's graphic style. It is clear that Parsons took delight in demonstrating his skill at sculpting human forms through gentle shading. Karl Parsons was an English stained glass artist associated with the arts and craft movement. Parsons was born in Peckham in Surrey in 1884, the 12th child of Arthur William Parsons (1838–1901), a foreign language translator, and Emma Matilda Parsons, née Bergemann (1837–1914).One of Parsons’ older sisters was the artist Beatrice Emma Parsons (1869–1955). Karl Parsons career was devoted to stained glass, becoming in 1899 a pupil-apprentice of Christopher Wall, the leading Arts and Crafts proponent of this medium. Parsons was a gifted student, from the outset collaborating on major commissions, such as that for the Gloucester Cathedral. By 1910, Parsons had set up his own studio, and would undertake several more significant commissions, including for the windows of Canterbury, Cape Town and Johannesburg cathedrals.
  • Creator:
    Karl Parsons (1884 - 1934, English)
  • Creation Year:
    1907
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 6.25 in (15.88 cm)Width: 8.5 in (21.59 cm)
  • More Editions & Sizes:
    6 1/4 x 8 1/2 inches Price: $9,144
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU52410483192

More From This Seller

View All
Portrait Studies
By Edwin Longsden Long
Located in London, GB
Edwin Long 1829 - 1891 Portrait Studies Graphite on paper Image size: 4 x 8 inches (10 x 20.5 cm) Framed Edwin Longsden Long RA (1829-1891, British) wa...
Category

1850s Pre-Raphaelite Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

Self Portrait, 20th Century English Artist, Graphite Drawing
By Frank Jameson
Located in London, GB
Frank Jameson 1899 - 1968 Self Portrait Graphite on paper, signed lower right Image size: 15 x 9 inches Contemporary frame Frank Jameson was born in London and later moved to Birmingham where he attended evening classes in drawing and painting at Birmingham Art School. By day he worked as an insurance salesman. During the First World War he became an officer in the Worcester Regiment and was in charge of building bridges and block houses. He returned to the Midlands but then travelled widely by rail, eventually discovering St Ives where he was inspired by the stunning scenery. He stayed and rented the Loft Studio. He also became a member of the St Ives Society of Artists and exhibited frequently with his fellow artists, especially John Park...
Category

20th Century Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

The Gaze, Signed Graphite 20th Century Portrait
Located in London, GB
Graphite on paper, signed bottom right Image size: 13 x 8 3/4 inches (33 x 22.25 cm) Original frame Dora Thacher Clarke, later Dora Middleton, (1895–1989) was a British sculptor and wood carver who also wrote about, and promoted African art. Clarke was born in Harrow in Middlesex. Her father, Joseph Thacher Clarke was an American architect. Clarke won a scholarship that allowed her to attend the Slade School of Fine Art. Aged fifteen, Clarke initially studied at the Slade on a part-time basis for three days each week throughout 1910 and 1911 but during 1915 and 1916 she studied sculpture there as a full-time student. Clarke first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1923 and continued to do so until 1959. In the early 1930s she was a regular exhibitor in group shows at the Goupil Gallery and in March 1937 had her first solo show at the French Gallery. She also exhibited at the Paris Salon and with the Royal Society of British Artists. Clarke's works included bronze castings, memorials and wood sculptures, often of African heads. For example she was commissioned to sculpt the posthumous portrait bust of Sir Walter Morley Fletcher. The most notable of her memorials is the panel and medallion tribute to Joseph Conrad at Bishopsbourne in Kent, which was unveiled in 1927. Clarke also wrote about, and promoted African art and spent a year, between 1927 and 1928 in Kenya, where she made many drawings which when she returned to London she used as the basis for wood carvings and bronzes of tribal figures. Wood carving became her technique of choice, often working with hardwoods and, on occasion, sperm whale teeth. Clarke married Admiral Gervase B Middleton in 1938 but rarely exhibited work under her married name. During World War II, Clarke was commissioned by the War Artists' Advisory Committee to produce a portrait medallion depicting a serviceman who had been awarded the George Cross. This proved to be the only portrait medallion acquired for the WAAC collection. Sculptures by Clarke are held in various museums, including the Ashmolean Museum which also holds a 1936 portrait of her by Orovida Camille Pissarro.
Category

Mid-20th Century English School Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

Portrait of a Merchant
By Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (Il Guercino)
Located in London, GB
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri Guercino Italian 1591-1666 Portrait of a Merchant Sanguine on laid paper Image size: 12 ¾ x 16 inches (32 x 40....
Category

17th Century Old Masters Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

A Study of Thomas Cooper Gotch, 19th Century Graphite Sketch
Located in London, GB
Graphite on paper Image size: 5 1/2 x 20 1/2 inches (14 x 52 cm) Framed This sketch is a portrait of Thomas Gotch is by his lifelong friend and confidante, Jane Ross, whom he met at...
Category

Mid-19th Century English School Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

Portrait Study, 20th Century Graphite Artwork, Female Artist
Located in London, GB
Graphite on paper, signed bottom left Image size: 7 1/2 x 9 3/4 inches (19 x 25cm) Contemporary frame A characterful portrait of a woman in profile. The artist has captured much of ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Graphite

You May Also Like

" Studio per ritratto di Philip Bedingfeld" 1870 ca cm. 25 x 36
Located in Torino, IT
Studio a matita e pastelli per lo splendido ritratto di Philip Bedingfeld proprietà del Museo del Norfolk Frederick Sandys, (Norwich, 1º maggio1829 ...
Category

1870s Pre-Raphaelite Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Crayon, Graphite, Paper

" Studio per Ritratto di Lady Anne Simms Reeve of Brancaster Hall " 1870 ca
Located in Torino, IT
Raro studio dell'artista Preraffaellita Frederick Sandys,Studio per l’opera Portrait of a Lady,( Anne Simms Reeve of Brancaster Hall, Norfolk) proprie...
Category

1870s Pre-Raphaelite Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Crayon, Graphite

The Argument
Located in New York, NY
Signed and inscribed on a label on the verso: No. 1/ The Argument/ W. Cave Thomas/ 203 Camden Rd/ NW Provenance: Christie’s, London, 6 November 1995, lot 88. Private Collection, London. This powerful watercolor is a mature work by the little-known Victorian painter William Cave Thomas...
Category

19th Century Pre-Raphaelite Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Pencil

Portrait of a Lady - Pre-Raphaelite art Victorian drawing young woman
Located in London, GB
This beautiful Victorian pencil drawing dates to around 1890 and is by an unknown hand. It is a profile head and shoulders portrait of a young lady sat in a chair. Her dark hair is t...
Category

19th Century Pre-Raphaelite Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Charcoal, Pencil

Self Portrait - British Italian art Edwardian pencil drawing female artist
By Estella Canziani
Located in London, GB
This is a fine detailed and superbly executed Edwardian drawing by Estella Canziani which dates to circa 1911. Executed by one of the leading artists of the day it is a very strikin...
Category

1910s Pre-Raphaelite Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil

Ellen, A Greek Model - PreRaphaelite chalk portrait drawing
Located in London, GB
FREDERIC JAMES SHIELDS, ARWS (1833-1911) Ellen, A Greek Model Signed and indistinctly inscribed with the name of the sitter on the reverse Chalks 37 by 28.5 cm., 14 ½ by 11 ¼ in. (frame size 63.5 by 54.5 cm., 25 by 21 ½ in.) Provenance: The Artist’s estate; Private collection. Shields was born in Hartlepool and brought up in extreme poverty with most of his family succumbing to TB. Employed by a commercial engraver he studied at evening classes in London and then in Manchester, where he settled in 1848. He was greatly impressed by the works of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which he saw at the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition in 1857. The quality of his illustrations for Defoe’s History of the Plague (1862) and Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress...
Category

Late 19th Century Pre-Raphaelite Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Chalk

Recently Viewed

View All