- William Rimmer
: " This article is about the artist William Rimmer. For the brass band composer of the same name, see
William Rimmer (music) ."William Rimmer (
20 February 1816 –20 August 1879 ) was an American artist born inLiverpool, England . He was the son of a French refugee, who emigrated toNova Scotia , where he was joined by his wife and child in 1818, and who in 1826 moved toBoston , where he earned a living as a shoemaker. The son learned the father's trade; at fifteen became a draughtsman and sign-painter; then worked for alithographer ; opened a studio and painted someecclesiastical pictures.In 1840 Rimmer made a tour of New England painting portraits, he lived in
Randolph, Massachusetts , in 1845-1855 as a shoemaker, for the last years of the decade practising medicine; practised inEast Chelsea, Massachusetts and received a diploma from theSuffolk County Medical Society and in 1855 removed toEast Milton, Massachusetts where he supplemented his income by carving busts from blocks ofgranite .In 1860 Rimmer made his head of "St. Stephen" and in 1861 his "Falling Gladiator". Rimmer's sculptures, except those mentioned and "The Fighting Lions", "A Dying Centaur", and a statue of
Alexander Hamilton (made in 1865 for the city of Boston), were soon destroyed. He worked in clay, not modelling but building up and chiselling; almost always without models or preliminary sketches; and always under technical disadvantages and in great haste; but his sculpture is anatomically remarkable and has an early Greek simplicity and strength.Rimmer published "Elements of Design" (1864) and "Art Anatomy" (1877), but his great work was in the classroom, where his lectures were illustrated with blackboard sketches.
Rimmer's most famous work, though not normally associated with him, is "Evening: Fall of Day". This paint-on-canvas portrays
Apollo , and a modified version was used bySwan Song Records , the recording label founded in 1974 by Englishrock group Led Zeppelin , in their label art. It is often mistaken to be a picture ofIcarus ,Lucifer ,Satan , orDaedalus . [cite web| url = http://www.rimmerhistory.co.uk/will.html| title = William Rimmer: A Claim to Fame| accessdate = 2008-02-01| year = 2006| month = September]References
*1911
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