# Helmut Wimmer

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{{short description|German painter}}

{{Infobox artist
| name          = Helmut Wimmer
| image         =
| image_size    =
| alt           =
| caption       =
| birth_name    = Helmut Karl Wimmer
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1925|12|08|mf=y}}
| birth_place   = [Munich](/source/Munich), Germany
| death_date    = {{death date and age|2006|03|20|1925|12|08}}
| death_place   = Stuart, Florida
| nationality   =
| spouse        = Francie Schwaige
| known_for     = Painting
| training      =
| movement      =
| notable_works = Artist's Rendition of a Black Hole (1971)
| patrons       =
| awards        =
| elected       =
| website       = 
}}

'''Helmut Wimmer''' (1925-2006) was a painter who, as the staff artist for New York's [Hayden Planetarium](/source/Hayden_Planetarium) from 1954 to 1987, created representations of cosmic vistas which were used during the planetarium shows.<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Hevesi
  | first = Dennis 
  | title = Helmut Wimmer, 80, Painter With Planetarium for a Canvas, Dies
  | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/25/obituaries/25wimmer.html
  | accessdate = 19 October 2011
  | work=The New York Times
  | date=25 January 2007}}</ref>

Born in Munich, at the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to a sculptor and architectural model maker.  Taken as a prisoner of war by the Russians while serving in the German army, his talents were noticed, and he was assigned to a team tasked with the repair of the ornamental plaster works of the government buildings in [Gorky](/source/Nizhny_Novgorod).<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Franklin
  | first = K. L.
  | title = Helmut K. Wimmer (1925-2006)
  | url = http://www.mapsplanetarium.org/2010/10/helmut-k-wimmer/#more-471
  | accessdate = 13 September 2015
  | archive-date = 4 March 2016
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304085124/http://www.mapsplanetarium.org/2010/10/helmut-k-wimmer/#more-471
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref>

In addition to work used in planetarium shows, Wimmer provided illustrations for numerous astronomy books and text books, and his work frequently appeared in the American Museum's [Natural History](/source/Natural_History_(magazine)) magazine. Of particular note is his 1971 illustration for ''[Physics Today](/source/Physics_Today)'', entitled ''Artist's Rendition of a Black Hole'' - a "colorful schematic concept of black hole phenomena [which] has been copied extensively, sometimes without proper credit."<ref>{{Citation|last=Franklin |first=K. L. |title=Helmut K. Wimmer (1925-2006) |url=http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/staff/former/wimmer |accessdate=13 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331172838/http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/staff/former/wimmer |archivedate=March 31, 2012 }}</ref>

A painting depicting the close passage of a comet by Wimmer was used as the cover art for the album ''[Mysterious Traveller](/source/Mysterious_Traveller)'', by the jazz fusion band [Weather Report](/source/Weather_Report), released in 1974.

He also designed an educational children's board game entitled "[Space Hop](/source/Space_Hop)", which was published by Teaching Concepts in 1973. The game taught players about the Sun and its [planets](/source/planets), [moons](/source/moons), [comets](/source/comets) and [asteroids](/source/asteroids).

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.icra.it/ICRA_Networkshops/INW10_RJR60/jan1971ptcover.htm Additional information on the 1971 black hole illustration, with image.]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wimmer, Helmut}}
Category:1925 births
Category:2006 deaths
Category:20th-century German painters
Category:20th-century German male artists
Category:German male painters
Category:21st-century German painters
Category:21st-century German male artists
Category:Planetarium shows
Category:Emigrants from the Kingdom of Bavaria to the United States

{{Germany-artist-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Helmut Wimmer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Wimmer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Wimmer?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.