William Rimmer (American, 1816-1879) Child Leading Man

Description:

William Rimmer (American, 1816-1879)

Child Leading Man
Signed "W. Rimmer" l.l., label from the Brooklyn Museum of Art affixed to the backin
Oil on canvas, 22 x 27 in. (55.8 x 68.5 cm),framed.
Condition: Retouch, varnish inconsistencies, craquelure.

Exhibitions: William Rimmer: A Yankee Michelangelo Brockton Art Museum, The Cleveland Museum of Art and The Brooklyn Museum, October, 1985-July, 1986, catalogue number 18, illustrated on page 56.

N.B. Although the subject is enigmatic, it is possible that this work is Samson and Child, which was exhibited in 1883 at the J. Eastman Chase Gallery, Boston. With its theatrical lighting and diagonal composition leading to a distant conflagration, the painting relates to several other works of the 1850s including Juliet and the Nurse. Rimmer's use of allegory and highly personal symbolism is at its height in this composition.
Estimate $30,000-50,000

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