This is an original oil painting portrait by William Rimmer (English/American 1816-1879). A bit of a renaissance man, Rimmer learned his father's trade in shoemaking before he became a draftsman and sign painter. Completely a self-taught artist, he toured New England as an itinerant portrait painter. In addition to his artistic pursuites, he also earned a diploma of medicine from the Suffolk County Medical Society in Massachusetts. The knowledge of human anatomy he gained from medical practice complemented his ambition to create art in the tradition of the Renaissance masters--Michelangelo in particular. As a painter, he is best known for his enigmatic "Flight and Pursuit" (1872). As a sculptor, he is remembered for his original and emotionally charged subjects, the most outstanding of which is "Falling Gladiator" (1861). Rimmer also excelled as a professor of art and from 1866 to 1870 he was director of the Cooper Union School of Design for Women in New York City.

This portrait of a young woman has old labels on the frame reverse indicating that the portrait was loaned to the Brooklyn Museum for a 1986 exhibition titled: William Rimmer: A Yankee Michelangelo. If you follow the link below, you can read an article about the exhibition and see a photograph of this portrait on view.
https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/exhibitions/1017

Frame: 35 3/8 x 29 3/8"
Sight: 29 1/4 x 23 1/4"
Stretcher: 30 3/8 x 24 5/8"

The painted surface exhibits craquelure and the canvas was relined. Minor wear to the frame.