Lorna Simpson Named Winner of the 2027 Wolfgang Hahn Prize

American artist Lorna Simpson has been named the winner of the 2027 Wolfgang Hahn Prize, according to ArtNews, which reported the decision on 12 November 2026.

The prize is sponsored by the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Germany, one of the country's best-known museums of modern and contemporary art. The award was established in 1994 and is given every year.

The winner gets more than a trophy. The Museum Ludwig will put €100,000 (about $105,000) toward buying a work by Simpson for its collection. An acquisition is when a museum formally adds an object to its permanent holdings.

The museum will also stage a solo exhibition of her work, which will be accompanied by a publication. A solo show is one devoted to a single artist, usually with a catalogue or book that records the display.

The jury that chose her included the curator Naomi Beckwith and members of the Museum Ludwig's board. Jurors are the people who make the final decision.

The museum's connection to Simpson's work goes back well before this prize. Her work ID (1990) was shown in the Museum Ludwig's 1999 group exhibition Art Worlds in Dialogue, known in German as Kunstwelten im Dialog. A group exhibition brings together work by several artists in one show.

For Cologne, the coming months will bring a purchase for the collection and a museum show of Simpson's work. Visitors will be able to see how the artist's work has developed in the museum's own galleries.