Eric Oliver Rimmington (19 July 1926 – 3 November 2024) was an English painter of

still life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

and

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s. He served in the military in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, studied at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

, and taught art at various establishments in England and the United States. He exhibited his paintings at many venues, and has numerous works in public collections. He is best known for his mural in the Trafalgar public house,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, which influenced

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

in listing the building.

Background

Rimmington was born in

, Hampshire. His father was Charlie Rimmington senior, an

engine room artificer Engine room artificer (ERA) is a specialised position in the crews of naval vessels – especially those of the British Royal Navy (RN) and other Commonwealth navies. An ERA is usually a fitter and turner, boilermaker, coppersmith or enginesmi ...

who served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and his mother was seamstress Mabel Bowman. He was the youngest of three brothers. The eldest was Charlie Rimmington junior, of the Royal Navy, who was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

in the

1944 Birthday Honours The 1944 King's Birthday Honours, celebrating the official birthday of King George VI, were announced on 2 June 1944 for the United Kingdom and British Empire, New Zealand, and South Africa. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they ...

. The middle brother was Ronald N. Rimmington. Eric Rimmington was educated at Southern Secondary School for Boys and Southern Art College. However, before he could complete his studies, he was recruited as a cadet into the

Dorset Regiment The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the List of British Army regiments (1881), county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although ...

during the

, serving in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

, and becoming second lieutenant on 14 October 1945. After the war, he completed his studies, and earned a

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

in 1952 at the

. Rimmington married Margaret McVey in 1947 and they had a daughter, but the marriage ended in the 1960s or 1970s. While working at

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

he formed a partnership with Mary Michaels, a history of art teacher at the same establishment, and they married in 1994. He died on 3 November 2024.

Career

Rimmington was a

artist, and a draughtsman who used

graphite Graphite () is a Crystallinity, crystalline allotrope (form) of the element carbon. It consists of many stacked Layered materials, layers of graphene, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable ...

and pencil. Art critic William Packer said that he was "one of our most distinguished exponents of still life". The Trafalgar public house, or the former Trafalgar House Services Club in Portsmouth, was

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 2002 for its mural, executed between 1948 and 1949 by Rimmington when he was 23 years old. The mural covers the whole of one wall of a downstairs back room. The listing says:

The principal interest of the building is a painted mural ... painted in 1948 by Eric Rimmington.The work is of considerable interest as an example of public mural painting of the immediate post-Second World War period, with its allusions to the War and local references to the naval base of Portsmouth, by an interesting young artist.

While continuing with his own painting, Rimmington was employed as an art teacher. He taught at Scarborough College of Art between 1952 and 1958, and at Bradford College of Art from 1958 to 1966. He was a senior lecturer in art between 1966 and 1969 at Birmingham College of Art and Design. He was then hired at

Wolverhampton Polytechnic The University of Wolverhampton is a public university in Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, England, located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire. Originally founded in 1827 as the Wolverham ...

as senior course tutor and principal lecturer between 1969 and 1982. Around 1982–1983, he taught for a year at the

University of Wisconsin–Stout The University of Wisconsin–Stout (UW–Stout or Stout) is a public university in Menomonie, Wisconsin, United States. The Institute of technology, polytechnic university of the University of Wisconsin System, it enrolls more than 6,900 stude ...

in the United States. Mary Michaels said that in Winsconsin, "Eric found an atmosphere refreshingly free of the prescriptive attitudes that dominated the British art world". He returned to

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

and then Hackney, and proceeded to work as a still life artist.

Exhibitions

Over thirty years from the 1980s, Rimmington contributed to a large number of group exhibitions, and had thirty exhibitions of his own work. He exhibited at the Millinery Works,

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

, the Bohun Gallery,

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...

, and the Mercury Gallery,

Cork Street Cork Street is a street in Mayfair in the West End of London, England, with many contemporary art galleries, and was previously associated with the tailoring industry. Location The street runs approximately north-west from the junction of Burl ...

, London. The 2012 Millinery Works exhibition featured forty paintings of the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

, created between 2006 and 2011. In 2014 the Bohun Gallery featured an exhibition of Rimmington's still-lifes.

Collections

Rimmington's works are held in a number of public collections, including the

Gulbenkian Foundation The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (), commonly referred to simply as the Gulbenkian Foundation, is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts, philanthropy, science, and education. One of the wealthiest charitable founda ...

, the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

, Bradford City Art Gallery, the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, Reading Museum and Art Gallery, the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, Scarborough Art Gallery and the ING Collection in the

Museum of London London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...

Notes

References

External links

Some works by Eric Rimmington on Art UK
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rimmington, Eric 1926 births 2024 deaths Artists from Portsmouth Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art English male painters British still life painters English muralists Post-impressionist painters 20th-century English painters 20th-century English male artists