The history of Simonis & Buunk begins in 1927 when J.M. Simonis (1898-1969) received his first restoration commission in The Hague. In the early 1950s he opened an art gallery in Apeldoorn, which his son Rien relocated to the Notaris Fischerstraat 30 in 1973. In 1977 Frank Buunk became his business partner. Thanks to the happy combination of his drive and expertise and Rien’s experience and enthusiasm, plus the organisational flair of Frank’s wife and business partner Mariëtte Simonis, the fine art dealers went on to acquire a reputation as a foremost 19th century fine art specialist in the Netherlands. In the same period several major changes took place. In 1984 Frank Buunk became a sworn valuer of paintings and thus the youngest one in the Netherlands. The following year Rien Simonis stepped down to devote himself entirely to restoring and conserving paintings. In 1986 Emilie Snellen joined the firm’s management, responsible, along with Mariëtte, for running company operations. After the unexpected death and sad loss of Rien Simonis in May 1998, his work was continued by the firm’s own restoration atelier . Since 1996 Simonis & Buunk has also specialised in buying and selling modern paintings so that the present collection covers the 1800-1970 period. Meanwhile Simonis & Buunk exists for 30 years and now occupies a unique and prominent role in the international art trade.