Photography by Jessica Turner.
Nestled on a nearly-acre corner plot in Old Preston Hollow, Lisa Simmons’ home is traditional with contemporary elements. You’re greeted by a double staircase foyer when you walk into the 6,000-square-foot Colonial, where Lisa and her son, Harrison Epstein, have lived for 25 years.
Epstein was born two months before the family moved in. They needed more space, and they loved the heavily wooded, private property.
On the left of the foyer is a formal dining space that has become a puzzle room over the course of the pandemic. On the right is a formal living room with a piano, a peacock sculpture and family memories. The larger family room is centered by a fireplace and painter and sculptor David Bates’ Gulf Coast Blue Crab.
“I saw his show in a local art gallery back in the late ’80s, early ’90s, and really was drawn to his style,” Simmons says. “I have collected his work for over 20 years.”
Simmons’ art collection consists almost entirely of American art with an emphasis on Texas regionalist artists and a focus on landscapes or still lifes. A Southern Methodist University graduate and Dallas native, Bates’ art is characterized by his large brush strokes and dark outlines. A prolific artist, he paints everything from landscapes to butchers. One of Bates’ magnolias hangs in the center hallway.
“My favorite Bates is a small magnolia, which he painted many times in his career,” Simmons says. “He is known for that.”
