Carl John Zimmerman (American, 1900-1985), Bathers and Riverboat

Oil on canvas, signed at lower right, presented within a carved gilt wood frame with painted liner.

Stretcher size 20 x 24 in.; Frame dimensions 27 1/4 x 31 1/4 in.

From a Private Collection, Frankfort, Kentucky

Carl John Zimmerman was a Cincinnati artist known for his mural painting, oil painting, and teaching. Born in Indianapolis, he studied art at Manual Training High School and the John Herron Art Institute under Otto Stark. In 1919, he studied teaching at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and in 1925 enrolled at the Cincinnati Art Academy, studying under Reginald Grooms, John E. Weis, and Herman Wessel. In 1927, he received his first mural commission and spent a year and a half traveling throughout Europe with his wife Carolyn.

Zimmerman taught at the Cincinnati Art Academy from 1928 to 1935 and later at the Taft Museum and Cincinnati Art Museum. He painted murals that hang in Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Grand Rapids, Dayton, Pittsburgh, Wilmington, and Cincinnati. He was a longtime member and past president of the Cincinnati Art Club. Zimmerman is known for his genre, figure, and mural paintings, as well as portraits and illustration work.