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As an art critic, William Zimmer achieved international stature through his catalog essays, which have been published by museums all over the world. He was a contributing critic to The New York Times for more than 20 years. His career began with ARTS Magazine in 1975; in 1977 he was hired by The Soho News, a weekly paper published in Lower Manhattan. By virtue of the paper’s location in the burgeoning Soho district, Zimmer was the first critic to review Julian Schnabel, David Salle, Keith Haring and many other artists who became major art world figures of the 1980s. Zimmer’s catalogue texts include essays on Donald Sultan, Brice Marden, Catherine Lee, Benny Andrews and Richard Bosman, to mention only a few. His generosity to emerging artists was legendary.
In 2005, Zimmer traveled to Ireland to select the works to be included in the US touring exhibition of John Kingerlee. A close friendship developed between the two and he subsequently traveled with the artist in Morocco and Spain.
William Zimmer passed away in New York City on September 28, 2007. The William Zimmer Prize in Art Criticism will be awarded annually in memorial to his life and achievements.
Bill Zimmer had all the good qualities of the art critic without ever descending into any of the less laudable tendencies that so often accompany that profession. He wrote, talked and behaved without any hint of bombast, bluster or vanity. Indeed, just like the painter John Kingerlee whose work he had been championing for the last two years, he made a habit of resolutely avoiding the pitfalls associated with the ego. Modest yet insightful, he had the ability to write with great economy and yet still get to the heart of the matter. One sensed that the agenda was, purely and simply, to let the art speak for itself - to help the less informed and visually aware reader to appreciate and understand it. It goes without saying that the critic's job, as Bill rightly saw it, was one of praising rather than damning, a standpoint that was underscored by the sense of wonderment and awe with which he regarded those blessed with the gift of artistic talent. The world desperately needs more people of such genuinely selfless natures.
- Jonathan Benington
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