Owen Farrel the Irish Dwarf, 1742, London

Owen Farrel the Irish Dwarf, 1742, London

Portrait of Owen Farrel in Covent Garden, walking to right, glancing towards front, with hat in his right hand and staff in the left; behind him two children gesture towards him and a dog yaps between his feet at another; a woman with a wheelbarrow, another man and a boy on the right, turning and exclaiming to their left; St Paul's Church behind them. 1742

Lettered above image with title and below with six lines on Owen Farrel: "He was born in the County of Caven; & in ye year 1716 was footman to a Colonel at Dublin: afterwards was carried about for a Show, being but 3-9in high, yes so surprizingly strong that he could carry 4 men, 2 sitting astride on each Arm, and perform several other feats of strength; at last he came to London, where he begged about the streets: some time before his death he sold his Body to Mr Omrod a Surgeon for a weekly allowance, who after his Death made a Skeleton of his Bones, which is now in the Museum of his Grace the Duke of Richmond." With a dedication to Cromwell Mortimer from Hulett, and production details: "Gravelot del / Hulett Sculp / Publish'd May ye 27th 1742 According to Act of Parliament".

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