Helmut Wimmer Astrological Cyanotype Print c.1957
ABOUT
Original astrological cyanotype print by Helmut Wimmer, staff artist for the Hayden Planetarium, circa 1957. Cynaotypes will not fade in the sunlight due to the process in which they are produced. Both were professionally framed in matte black frame.
Cyanotype is a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print. Engineers used the process well into the 20th century as a simple and low-cost process to produce copies of drawings, referred to as blueprints.
- CREATOR Helmut Wimmer.
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DATE OF MANUFACTURE c.1957, framed c.2016.
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MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES Framed Photograph.
- CONDITION Good. All frames have some slight scratches. Both frames have minor scratches on the frame and one has a chip.
- DIMENSIONS H 12.5 in. W 9.5 in. D 1 in.
HISTORY
Helmut Wimmer was a painter who, as the staff artist for New York's Hayden Planetarium from 1954 to 1987, created representations of cosmic vistas which were used during the planetarium shows.
Born in Munich, at the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to a sculptor and architectural model maker. Taken as 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.
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 magazine.
