Hermann Simon (1846-1895)

About the Artist

Herman Gustav Simon was born in Germany in 1846. His family emigrated to the United States and settled in Philadelphia when Simon was two years of age. Simon studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and contributed to the 41st Annual Exhibition held in 1864.[1] In 1872, Simon was recognized as a rising Philadelphia artist by the Philadelphia Inquirer. A critic for the newspaper noted how “remarkably true to life” Simon’s paintings of dog’s heads were after viewing them at the art gallery of Mr. J.E. McClees in Philadelphia.[2] The same year, Simon’s Scotch Terrier was exhibited as part of a collection of notable American and European artists owned by Charles F. Haseltine, proprietor of the Leavitt Art Rooms in New York’s Union Square.[3]