Karl Parker
Sir Karl Theodore Parker, , occasionally known as KTP, was an English art historian and museum curator. He was Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford from 1945 to 1962 and Trustee of the National Gallery from 1962 to 1969.
Early life and education
Parker was born on 2 July 1895 in Marylebone, London, England. He was the younger son of Robert William Parker, a surgeon, and Marie Amélie Parker. He was educated at the Private schools in [the United Kingdom|private] Bedford School, and the Lycée Saint-Louis, Paris. He then studied chemistry at the German University of Freiburg. He went on to study at the University of Zürich where he presented a doctoral thesis on "Oliver Cromwell's reputation traced through English literature." He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Oxford in 1972.Career
Having spent much of his time while at university in print rooms and art galleries, Parker began volunteering in the print room of the British Museum upon his return to England in 1924. In 1925, he achieved employment at the British Museum as an assistant keeper in its print room. He became an expert in Old Master drawings, and served as general editor of the Drawings of the Masters series from its inception in 1926 until it ended in 1940.In 1934, Parker joined the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, as keeper of the Department of Fine Art. During the Second World War, he oversaw the movement of the works held by the museum to Chastleton House, a country house in Oxfordshire. He additionally served as Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum between 1945 and 1962. Having then retired, he maintained a link with the art world as a trustee of the National Gallery, serving as such between 1962 and 1969.