Forgotten Sculptors' Story
24/09/2025 Works of Art
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Discovering an artist who is somewhat neglected is part of the excitement of the auction word. Marie-Louise Simard, is a fine example of a relatively unknown and poorly documented French sculptor whose elegant Art Deco bronzes, especially female figures, dancers, and stylised animals who can command interest in the decorative-arts market and appear solely in auction records and dealer inventories, but very rarely outside of these trade records.
This neglect represents a pattern of female artists for whom history has largely forgotten. Indeed, as recently as 2022, ‘The Story of Art without Men’ by Katy Hessel shone a bright light on the stark reality that three hundred or so female artist had almost been written out of history. Her research and work continues apace to unearth and revisit the achievements of women in art. Female sculptors such as Simard have proven even more difficult to find documentation and contemporary reference of, leaving Simard, and many others, relatively unknown despite producing striking and skilled work.
We do know that Simard was born in Paris in 1886 and is recorded as having died in 1963. Biographical notes that accompany several auction and dealer listings state that she spent formative years in Monaco, where she learned the rudiments of carving from a local stonecutter; beyond that early apprenticeship she appears to have been largely self-taught. This combination of hands-on training and independent development helps explain the practised yet decorative sensibility of her later bronzes.
Style, materials and motifs
Simard worked primarily in bronze, often finished with silvering, parcel-gilding or black enamel ornament - techniques associated with luxurious ?? decorative objects of the 1920s and 1930s. Her subjects repeatedly include graceful female nudes, dancers, exotic and allegorical figures, and stylised animal forms.Many of her works sit on lacquered or marble bases and are signed M.L. Simard; several pieces carry foundry marks indicating Paris casting, such as Etling (see lot 896). The treatment of the female figure, elongated, poised, and decorative rather than ruggedly naturalistic, places her firmly within the Art Deco idiom.
Exhibitions and contemporary reception
From 1927 Simard is recorded as having exhibited at Paris salons: notably the Salon des Tuileries and the Salon des Indépendants. Dealer and catalogue notes also link her to exhibitions at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs (a venue for decorative-arts innovation) and to commercial galleries such as the Edgar Brandt and Danthon galleries in Paris. Secondary market descriptions additionally reference showings in Madrid, Prague and Tokyo, indicating some international circulation of her works or later loan/exhibition histories. While detailed contemporary critical reviews are scarce in the publicly available record, her frequent presence in decorative-arts salons suggests she was an accepted contributor to the period’s market for interior sculpture.
Known works and market presence
Iconic or recurrent works attributed to Simard include the “Woman in a Canoe”, dancing nudes, and various animal bronzes produced in silvered or parcel-gilt finishes. Examples of these pieces appear in specialist dealer inventories, auction houses, and high-end marketplaces, indicating steady demand from Art Deco collectors.
Auction results vary widely depending on size and finish; prices have ranged from modest sums for small studies to several thousand dollars or euros for larger, rarer examples. A market high recorded in recent aggregated data shows significantly greater prices for exceptionally large or well-provenanced works such as a similar example to the piece offered by Bellmans (see lot 900) at Sotherby’s in 2005 achieving £30,000 + BP.
Significance and artistic context
Simard occupies a specialist niche in the decorative arts: a practised maker of luxury objects for modern interiors rather than a sculptor primarily engaged with monumental public commissions or academic salons. Her work exemplifies how many Art Deco sculptors bridged fine art and interior decoration, producing pieces that were simultaneously sculptural and highly finish-led, made to complement contemporary furnishings. The silvered or parcel-gilt treatments and occasional use of enamel or dinanderie patterns are hallmarks of that marriage between craftsmanship and ornament.
Gaps in the record and research opportunities
Despite the consistent market presence, key aspects of Simard’s biography remain poorly documented in accessible public archives. Missing or uncertain details include:
- precise archival evidence of formal training (beyond the Monaco stonecutter note),
- full exhibition lists and contemporary reviews in French periodicals,
- a catalogue raisonné or comprehensive worklist, and
- personal archives (correspondence, studio records or photographs).
These lacunae make Simard typical of many decorative-arts practitioners whose work survives in objects and catalogue descriptions but whose private papers have not been conserved or digitised.
Auction Details
- Sale: Works of Art, Tuesday 14 October
- Auctioneer: Bellmans, Sussex
- Lots: 896 & 900
- Estimate: £300 - £500 & £2,000 - £3,000 respectively
View the full catalogue and register to bid online here.