Original works of art

Hermann Gustav Simon was born in Schlitz, Germany, the son of a cloth manufacturer, who brought his family with him to Philadelphia two years after Hermann’s birth during the revolution of 1848. Educated in public schools and by private tutors, Simon showed an early aptitude for art and entered the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He studied with Robert Wylie, then George F. Bensell and Henry W. Bispham.

The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts had been established in 1805, its founders being inspired by the important role in the arts of the Royal Academy in London. In addition to collecting works of art, the Academy ran a fine art school, which in the mid-nineteenth century had an emphasis on figure drawing and the study of anatomy.

Simon was active in the art world of late nineteenth century Philadelphia, exhibiting several paintings at the Centennial International Exposition of 1876, including “Dogs at Quail Shooting”, and “Duck Shooting on the Chesapeake Bay”. He exhibited again at the Pennsylvania Academy between 1876 and 1887 and with the Society of Artists between 1879 and 1881, and again in 1884.

The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts had been established in 1805, its founders being inspired by the important role in the arts of the Royal Academy in London. In addition to collecting works of art, the Academy ran a fine art school, which in the mid-nineteenth century had an emphasis on figure drawing and the study of anatomy.

Simon was active in the art world of late nineteenth century Philadelphia, exhibiting several paintings at the Centennial International Exposition of 1876, including “Dogs at Quail Shooting”, and “Duck Shooting on the Chesapeake Bay”. He exhibited again at the Pennsylvania Academy between 1876 and 1887 and with the Society of Artists between 1879 and 1881, and again in 1884.