American, 1852-1931

Simmons was a keynote figure of an important group called “The Ten”, an important association of artists who came together in 1897 and exhibited their work independently. Born in Concord, Mass. And related to writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, Simmons graduated from Harvard in 1874. He began his formal artistic training at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 1877. He proceeded to study in Paris at the prestigious Ecoles des Beaux Arts.
     
Simmons is most recognized for his murals and his colorful Impressionist landscapes. He visited Nantucket and completed this work July of 1916. This piece was exhibited 1916 and 1917 exhibitions of The Ten in Providence and New York.
     
Simmons' public murals were created for Harvard University's Memorial Hall; the Manufacturers and Fine Arts Building at the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago, IL in 1893 (aka the Chicago World's Fair); The Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA; Library of Congress, Washington, DC; The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York, NY; and the State Capitol buildings of St. Paul, MN and Pierre, SD.

EDUCATION:
1880, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France
1878-80, Began classes at Academie Julian , Paris, France
1877, Enrolled in formal classes at the School of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
1870-74, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

EXHIBITIONS:
1881, London Royal Academy, London, England
1881-89, Paris Salon, Honorable Mention, Paris, France
1881, London Royal Academy, London, England
1881–89, Paris Salon, Honorable Mention, Paris, France
1884–85, 1889, National Academy of Design, New York, NY
1885, Boston Art Club, Boston, MA
1898–1904, Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York, NY
1898, St. Botolph, New York, NY 
1889, Paris Exposition, France, bronze medal, Paris, France
1890–1903, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 10 times, including Temple Silver Medal,,
1890, Philadelphia, PA,
1893, World’s Colombian Exposition, Chicago, IL
1900, St. Botolph, New York, NY 
1901, Pan-Am Exposition, gold medal, Buffalo, NY
1902, St. Botolph, New York, NY
1904, Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, MO
1904, St. Botolph, New York, NY
1906, Kimball Gallery, MA 
1906, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI 
1906, Detroit Museum of Art, Detroit, MI 
1906, M. O’Brien, Sons, IL 
1907, Bressler Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 
1907, Gillespie Galleries, Washington County, PA 
1907, McClees Galleries, Bryn Mawr, PA 
1907, Montross Galleries, New York, NY 
1908, Montross Gallerie, New York, NY
1908, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
1910, Montross Galleries, New York, NY 
1911, Montross Galleries, New York, NY 
1912, Arch. League (prize), New York, NY
1912, Montoss Galleries, New York, NY
1913, Copley Society, Boston, MA 
1913, Montross Galleries, New York, NY 
1915, Panama Pacific Exhibition of 1915, San Francisco, CA
1915–16, M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY 
1917, Montross Galleries, New York, NY 
1917, St. Botolph, New York, NY 
1919, 1930, Corcoran Gallery Biennials, Washington, D.C.

COLLECTIONS:
Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA
Criminal Court Room, New York, NY
Minnesota State Capital, St. Paul, MN
Capitol Building, Pierre, SD
Court House, Mercer, PA
Astoria Gallery, Astoria, NY
Courthouse, Des Moines, IA
Appellate Court, New York, NY
Memorial Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Library of Congress, Washington, DC 

MEMBERSHIPS:
Boston Art Club
Boston Art Students Association, 1881–84 
Harvard Art Club, founding member
Hasty Pudding Club, Harvard University
National Academy of Design
National Institute of Arts & Letters
New York Architectural League, NY
Society of American Artists, 1888, resigned in 1897
St. Botolph Club, NY
The Players Club, NY
The Ten American Painters, 1897, founding member 
Vaudeville Club, NY, 1893

AWARDS:
1882, Honorable Mention for Etude a Concarneau at the Paris Salon, Paris, France

COMMISSIONS:
1903, The Progress of the American Spirit in the Northwest, Paris, France
1894, Municipal Art Society of New York for the decoration of the courtroom of the Criminal Courts Building, New York, NY
1892, Francis Davis Millet, paint the mural decorations in the Manufacturers and Fine Arts Building at the World’s Colombian Exposition, Chicago, IL
1891, Harvard University, design stained glass windows for Memorial Hall, Cambridge, MA