‘And with a master's hand and prophet's fire, Struck the deep sorrows of his lyre’ (Thomas Gray, The Bard, 1757)
This is a sensitive portrayal of John Parry, 'Parry Ddall' or the Blind Harper of Ruabon, painted by his son William Parry. John Parry is known as the father of modern harpists. Blind from birth, he was a celebrated musician and harpist to George III and Sir Watkin Williams Wynn of Wynnstay. He claimed that his music was of druidical origin, and the triple harp he played was later adopted as the national instrument of Wales. Parry also published three collections of traditional Welsh airs. An early member of the Society of Cymmrodorion, he became an illustrious figure in the Celtic Revival. Parry’s 'ravishing blind harmony’ with ‘tunes enough to choke you’ inspired Thomas Gray to finish writing his epic poem 'The Bard' in 1757. This poem became iconic, and was a popular subject with artists like Thomas Jones, whose painting ‘The Bard’ is one of the highlights of our national collection. The artist William Parry was a pupil of Joshua Reynolds and gained a reputation for small whole-length portraits in oil and pastel. Like his father, he too was patronised by the Williams-Wynn family. William also painted another version of this portrait which originally hung at Wynnstay along with Anton Mengs’ portrait of Richard Wilson
