Piedmont Arts will host Lucian Simmons of Sotheby’s for a fascinating Art Talk in the galleries on Thursday, April 11. A reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. and the talk will begin at 7 p.m. This event is free, but reservations are required. Reservations can be made by calling Piedmont Arts or online at PiedmontArts.org by Monday, April 8. This event is sponsored by Diversified Trust.
Lucian Simmons is vice chairman and worldwide head of Sotheby’s Restitution Department and Senior Specialist, Global Fine Arts, Sotheby’s New York. Simmons works extensively with art collectors and their advisors throughout North America and Europe and has been involved in the sale of some of the most significant artworks to come to auction in recent years including the ‘Scream’ by Edvard Munch (sold for $119m in 2012), Bronzino’s newly discovered self-portrait (sold for $10.5m in January 2023) and Kandinsky’s ‘Murnau mit Kirche II’ (sold for $44.7m in March 2023). Simmons has worked on restitution and provenance issues since 1997 and has been involved in the resolution of claims to art works worth in excess of $1 billion.
Simmons has spoken widely on art market issues and in particular on the displacement of art during WWII. He has been interviewed on the subject on television and radio and has appeared in a number of film documentaries. He gives regular seminars at universities and law schools across North America and has given evidence to the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport of the House of Commons, London, to the European Parliament, Brussels, and to the Prague Conference on Holocaust Era Assets.
