  By two different methods, we show that LHS 4033 is an extremely massive white
dwarf near its likely upper mass limit for destruction by unstable electron
captures. From the accurate trigonometric parallax reported herein, the
effective temperature (T=10,900 K) and the stellar radius (R=0.00368 R_sun) are
directly determined from the broad-band spectral energy distribution -- the
parallax method. The effective temperature and surface gravity are also
estimated independently from the simultaneous fitting of the observed Balmer
line profiles with those predicted from pure-hydrogen model atmospheres -- the
spectroscopic method (T=10,760 K, log g=9.46). The mass of LHS 4033 is then
inferred from theoretical mass-radius relations appropriate for white dwarfs.
The parallax method yields a mass estimate of 1.310--1.330 M_sun, for interior
compositions ranging from pure magnesium to pure carbon, respectively, while
the spectroscopic method yields an estimate of 1.318--1.335 M_sun for the same
core compositions. This star is the most massive white dwarf for which a robust
comparison of the two techniques has been made.
