Thomas Parr, ‘Old Parr’ (1483?-1635)
British (English) School
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1600 - 1699
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1060 x 830 mm
Order this imageCollection
Powis Castle and Garden, Powys
NT 1180907
Caption
Thomas Parr was a Shropshire farm labourer who rose to fame in the seventeenth century on account of his unfathomably old age. Legend has it that when he died in 1635 he was 152 years old. Shortly before his death he was brought to London by the Earl of Arundel where he became an object of curiosity and was widely known as ‘Old Parr’. He was presented to the king and enjoyed something of a celebrity status. He was the subject of a popular pamphlet titled 'The Old, Old, Very Old Man or the Age and Long Life of Thomas Parr'. He did not survive life in the city for very long, though he clearly made a big impact: he was buried in Westminster Abbey where his small white marble gravestone can still be seen in the centre of the south transept.
Summary
Oil painting canvas, Thomas Parr,‘Old Parr’ (1483?-1635), English School, 17th century.
Provenance
Accepted by HM Treasury on 21st March, 1963 in lieu of tax and conveyed to National Trust ownership on 29th November 1963. Recorded at Powis Castle in Montgomery Collections Vol VI P.148 in 1873.
Makers and roles
British (English) School, artist