Local artist Herbert Simon, sitting, chats with admirers during the opening reception of the ‘Herbert Simon: Sculptor… Painter… Printmaker… Master’ exhibit at the Everhart Museum in Scranton on Thursday evening.
Sam Zavada | Times Leader
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Visitors to the Everhart Museum on Thursday night socialized and admired the work of local artist Herbert Simon. They were in attendance for the opening reception of the ‘Herbert Simon: Sculptor… Painter… Printmaker… Master’ exhibit.
Sam Zavada | Times Leader
Visitors to the Everhart Museum on Thursday night socialized and admired the work of local artist Herbert Simon. They were in attendance for the opening reception of the ‘Herbert Simon: Sculptor… Painter… Printmaker… Master’ exhibit.
Sam Zavada | Times Leader
SCRANTON — Herbert Simon is having an excellent month.
On Nov. 8, he was inducted into the Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame. On Thursday night, an opening reception was held at the Everhart Museum, where a new exhibit celebrating Simon’s work is now on display.
The exhibit, “Herbert Simon: Sculptor… Painter… Printmaker… Master,” will remain in the Everhart’s Main Gallery until Feb. 16. Thursday’s reception allowed fans of Simon’s work to speak with the artist and socialize with other art enthusiasts.
“You might say it’s the retrospective of my whole career as an artist,” said Simon of the new exhibit. The work on display extends from a 1957 self-portrait to very recently completed projects, representing eight decades of the Simon artistic catalog.
Born in 1927 in Nashville, Tenn., the 97-year-old Simon has mastered painting, printmaking and sculpture throughout his career. He taught at Wilkes University for 23 years, and his sculptures can be found at the Stark Learning Center on Wilkes’ campus, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park on Coal Street in Wilkes-Barre, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.
That’s just a small fraction of Simon’s complete output. His home in Shavertown is filled with art, all of which was combed over by the Everhart’s curator, James Lansing. Considering the size and scope of Simon’s work, Lansing needed to make special arrangements for the new exhibit.
“We rarely empty the Main Gallery for an artist, but we did for Herbert,” Lansing said.
Lansing wanted to choose pieces that touch on the different eras of Simon’s career.
It all began with a geometric piece that was already in the Everhart’s collection, which was featured in Lansing’s first show as curator. Lansing, who has been in his current position since August 2023, was shocked that Simon had not yet been specifically celebrated by the museum with a full exhibition.
“I was really surprised that he had not been given a show in this museum, because he deserves it,” said Lansing. “He’s been doing it for decades.”
Lansing is happy to see Simon get his due as a master, between the Everhart’s new exhibition and the recent Hall of Fame induction.
For Simon, it was still stunning to see some of this work appear in the Everhart. It was the first time some of the pieces left his home.
“I could fill this museum with my work,” Simon said. “This is the first time I’m seeing these pieces with so much space around them, so, for me, I have to get used to seeing them in a different environment.”