Matthew Simmonds graduated with an honours degree in history of art from the University of East Anglia in 1984, specialising in the art and architecture of the medieval period. After working for several years as an illustrator, in 1991 he studied architectural stone carving at Weymouth technical college. He has worked on the restoration of several major English national monuments, most importantly Westminster Abbey and the cathedrals of Salisbury and Ely. In 1997 he transferred to Pietrasanta, Italy, where he specialised in fine classical ornament in marble. He gained his first recognition as a sculptor in 1999 after winning first prize at the second international sculpture symposium of Verona. Since then he has participated in several sculpture symposia worldwide and has exhibited in the UK, Italy, Germany, Denmark, China, the UAE, Australia and the USA. In 2014 he transferred with his
