Lucien J. Simon studied under William Adolphe Bouguereau and Tony Robert-Fleury. He also taught painting, and his students included Bob Humblot, Henri Jannot, Yves Brayer and Georges Rohner.

He specialised in traditional provincial scenes, particularly of Brittany. For the Cercle de la Marine de Toulon, he painted decorative panels inspired by the novels of Pierre Loti. He was also an outstanding portraitist. His drawing was vigorous, his palette warm and colourful, although there was a certain greyness about the light, typical of the region.

From 1931 to 1934 he showed work in exhibitions at the Royal Academy in London, and exhibited regularly at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris. By the Exposition Universelle of 1900, his reputation was already firmly established, and his contributions were confirmation of this. He was awarded a commendation in 1885, a third-class medal in 1890, a gold medal in 1900, and in 1937 the Grand Prix for the Exposition Internationale. He was made Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1900, and an Officer in 1911. He was also appointed a member of the Institut de France in 1927.

Museum and Gallery Holdings

Boston: Breton Women
Bremen: Portraits of Old Couples
Brooklyn, NY: Reconciliation in Brittany
Budapest: Lady with her Three Children
Cairo: Lady Dressing
Chicago: Celebrating Mass in Brittany; Portrait of the Artist
Colmar: Quaiside at Audierne
Detroit: Breton Inn
Douai: The Gayant Family
Greenock (McLean Mus. and AG): Le Gouter (c. 1906, oil on canvas)
Helsinki: Returning from the Church at Penmar'ch
Liège: Travelling Circus; Skittles Player
Lyons (MBA): Portrait of the Artist; Religious Ceremony in Italy
Mannheim: Bretons in Church
Moscow (Mus. of Western Art): Boatmen; Gust of Wind
Paris (Mus. Carnavalet): Welcoming Army Officers at Porte Maillot Station, 14 July 1919
Paris (Mus. d'Orsay): Procession to Penmar'ch (1900, oil on canvas); Standing Stone (1900, oil on canvas); Summer's Day, Portrait of my Children (oil on canvas); Bathing (oil); The Communicants (oil on canvas); The Artist's Studio (1922-1927, oil on canvas)
Paris (Mus. du Petit Palais): Mendicant Nuns; Visiting
Philadelphia (MA): Christ Performing Miracles (1894, oil on canvas)
Quimper (MBA): Gathering Potatoes (1907, oil on canvas); The Chapelle de la Joie in Penmar'ch (1913, oil on canvas); Intimacy (c. 1930-1940, oil on canvas)
Rouen (MBA): Portrait of the Painter J. E. Blanche
Stockholm: Evening Chat; Chatting at Twilight
Venice: Small Boat; Maundy Thursday Ceremony