William Rimmer  (1816–1879)
	Alternative names	Dr. William Rimmer; Rimmer
	Description	American painter, writer and sculptor
	Date of birth/death	20 February 1816	20 August 1879
	Location of birth/death	Liverpool	Massachusetts
	Authority file	: Q3637109 VIAF: 948360 ISNI: 0000000081910575 ULAN: 500016416 LCCN: n85045559 NLA: 35919185 WorldCat

Identifier: artwilliam00bart (find matches)
Title: Art life of William Rimmer, sculptor, painter, and physician / Truman Bartlett.
Year: 1882 (1880s)
Authors: Bartlett, Truman Howe
Subjects: American Painting
Publisher: James R. Osgood and Co.
Contributing Library: Whitney Museum of American Art, Frances Mulhall Achilles Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Metropolitan New York Library Council - METRO

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of public work.At first thought it seems an unexpected declaration. If no more sympathetic wish could be expressed in admiration of his geniusthan that he might have known the art souls of ancient and modern times, sothere is no fact in his life so tantalizing to an artist as that he made no effort tothis end. The regret that he did not almost equals the admiration for what hesucceeded in doing without such inspiring and transforming intimacy. With strongminds a capacity for progress implies an uncontrollable desire for its attainment,,and a self-sacrifice oftentimes amounting to cruelty. This capacity he possessed in a sufficient degree to enable him to go througha great deal of hard study with a perseverance as rare as it is splendid, and toexceed, more than any other artist of his time, the limited facilities of his imme-diate locality. But it is one of the anomalies in the history of artists, that a manwith so strong an art sense should have had a love of domestic life so much 130
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CONCLUSION. 131 stronger. I do not understand that he was particularly, if at all, interested in thelives, temperaments, or works of the principal artists of his own generation, or thathe had the desire of professional sympathy or soulful identification common to theimaginative temperament; at least, no wish sufficiently strong to urge him to makeat any cost even a short visit to the living art-centres of the Old World. He had art knowledge and genius enough to conquer not only any and all theuntoward circumstances of his life, but to establish an era of art in this country.But he accepted circumstances, and followed the bent of his own nature and feelings,whether towards art or away from it. If the results were disastrous, he made nocomplaint. In certain matters ones own way is heroism. His home was at alltimes a never-failing joy. He felt art in all its varied phases, and touched, perhapsunconsciously, every one of its mighty chords. I say unconsciously; because I must believe, that

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