The Life and Artistic Practice of Edith Rimmington
Edith Rimmington was an English artist, poet, and photographer. Born in Leicester, United Kingdom, she studied at the Brighton School of Art before moving to Manchester after marrying Leslie Robert Baxter in 1926. In 1937, she returned south to London, where she was introduced to the British Surrealist Group by Gordon Onslow Ford. As one of the few female members of the group, she was associated with artists such as Eileen Agar, Emmy Bridgwater, Edward Burra, and John Banting. Her early work, including both art and poetry, was featured in various short publications and pamphlets by surrealist groups. In 1942, her drawings and collages were reproduced in the manifesto Arson. Later in life, Rimmington moved to Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex, where she worked with color photography of coastal scenery, such as the Sussex Coast, in 1960.
Notable Works and Exhibitions
Rimmington's artistic output included paintings, drawings, collages, and poetry. Her work Eight Interpreters of the Dream, an oil on canvas from 1940, features eight flesh-colored diving suits hanging under arches, which some have noted bear a likeness to decapitated bodies or artificial limbs. Another significant work, The Oneiroscopist, was exhibited at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2011. Her exhibitions included the Surrealist Objects exhibition at the London Gallery in 1937 and the International Surrealist Exhibition at the Galerie Maeght in Paris in 1947.
In addition to her visual art, she produced poetic prose through automatic text, including pieces such as The growth at the break and The seagull, which were published in Free Unions in 1946.
