Born William Holwell in Exeter, in 1792 he became vicar of Menheniot in Cornwall, although he never visited his parish, preferring to stay in London as an absentee-cleric.
In 1797 he married Lady Charlotte Hay who inherited property from her mother’s father, Sir William Carr. As a consequence Holwell adopted the Carr family name. Six months after his death on 24 December 1830, his bequest of 35 paintings entered the National Gallery’s collection.
Reverend William Holwell Carr
The Reverend Holwell Carr (1758–1830) started to collect art in the 1780s and continued to add to his collection throughout his life.
Selected works from the Howell Carr Bequest
This is one of Titian’s earliest surviving works. It shows the Adoration of the Shepherds – the flying angel in the distance announces Christ’s birth to them. Saint Joseph presents the infant Christ to a young shepherd, who kneels in reverence.It is unusual to find only one shepherd in attendance...
Rembrandt’s painting, unique for him in its tender intimacy, shows a young woman almost up to her knees in a stream. She lifts her shift and looks down with a little smile of pleasure at the cool water rippling against her sturdy legs.Although it’s not certain, this woman may be Hendrickje Stoffe...
Barocci represents the holy family in the charming domestic setting of a bedchamber in a Renaissance palace. The infant Christ turns from feeding at his mother’s breast to observe his cousin, John the Baptist, who is teasing the household cat with a goldfinch. The bird is a traditional symbol of...
Saint Jerome (about 342–420 AD) was a theologian, writer and hermit, famous for producing what is considered to be the first Latin translation of the Bible, known as the Vulgate. The saint is depicted here with a number of identifying attributes: a crucifix refers to his religious contemplation d...
Not on display
A beautiful nymph lying in the foreground seems to be asleep, although she may be enjoying a moment of solitary ecstasy. Beside her a golden-haired child watches as a satyr – a man with a goat’s ears, horns and legs – gently removes her delicate white robe. Another satyr peeps out from behind a t...
Not on display
Saint George plunges his lance into the jaws of the dragon which, according to legend, inhabited the lake outside the city of Lydda in the Holy Land. He has arrived just in time to save the princess, who had been presented as a sacrifice to the creature. The dead body of one of the dragon’s earli...