Editorial Notes on Artwork
by Catherine Nevil Parker

   The slides selected to represent the first half (1950s–1970s) of William Parker’s image-making career are taken from his own chronologically grouped reproductions, accompanied by a numerical key. Unfortunately, my father left many slides of his early works unlabeled, and their original correspondence with his numerical key has long since been lost. I originally tried to tie these works to titles in the key but, as the results seemed doubtful, I decided to replace possibly erroneous titles with “Title unknown.” Similarly, because most of his early work burned in a fire in the late 1950s, the slides here represent only a small selection of paintings from his undergraduate and graduate years.

   While my father typically titled his paintings individually, almost all of the works in his four photographic series (late 1970s–mid-1990s) cite only the series’ name. The works in the Der Wilde Mann series provide an exception. Each one typically names the medieval “humor” (or combination of humors) and the temperament represented. As with several of the reproductions of my father’s paintings, a handful of the Der Wilde Mann images remain unidentified as to humor and temperament. Though I have named these to the best of my ability, based on my recollections of their creation, I welcome corrections from individuals who have more certain information.  Finally, I have located almost no information on the exhibition of works in the Green Man series and, again, welcome information others may have.

   Because most of Bill Parker’s paintings and photographs now reside in private collections, of which I find no extant record, we ask that anyone who happens to be in possession of these works kindly contact the site creator, Robert Martin (bobmartin@wheelergmail.org), or Parker’s daughter, Nevil Parker (cobradraumr@gmail.com), with information such as title, medium, date, dimensions, and exhibition details. Many thanks.

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—Catherine-Nevil Parker