Portrait Of A Smuggler by Henry Perlee Parker, offered by Chairman Antiques.
Portrait Of A Smuggler By Henry Perlee Parker (1795-1873) is offered by Chairman Antiques for £1500.
So frequently did he depict them that Perlee Parker was given the nickname ‘Smuggler’ himself.
Around the time of the Napoleonic Wars, when this picture was completed, there was a rise in illicit trade, with manpower diverted to the continent.
The 19 x 22½in (48.5 x 57.5cm) oil on canvas has been restored and “shows its history”, but for dealer Andrew Blackall it is the artist’s finest work on this subject.
A resemblance to actor Richard Harris doesn’t hurt either, he adds.
“It would sit wonderfully in a pub or hotel with smuggler associations just as it would a residential interior,” the dealer says. “It’s great fun and his work is certainly on the up.”
