A Final "Thank You!!!" to Anna and Archer

For those of you who might have missed us over the last couple of days - sorry to keep you waiting!!!  We've had some computer woes and couldn't seem to get things updated properly.  But, even though the problems persist, at least we think we reached a point where we could proceed with our visit to Brookgreen Gardens.

Flying Wild Geese - Marshall Frederick

As we were talking about in our last post, the presentations of wildlife in the sculpture found here are extraordinarily varied.  From marble to bronze, from highly naturalistic to stylized, one cannot miss the deep affection the artists have for their wild subjects.  And we certainly seem attuned to that affection.  I was looking at the statue of the geese on the right and it seemed awfully familiar to me.  I have since found that it is one of the most popular sculptures around and that it is found at many corporate sites.  I can't remember where else I have seen it but when I do I'll let you know.  Another popular subject at Brookgreen is "man's best friend."  Shortly before our last visit they had

Bella and The Bug - Louise Peterson

an entire show dedicated to sculptures of dogs.  Most were still there when we visited and were amazing!!  Of course the other animals that           inhabit Brookgreen Gardens cover just about the entire spectrum of species.  From the gentlest to the most ferocious.  From everyday farm animals to fantastic mythical creatures.  As we saw in the last post, many of the statues combine humans and animals in humorous,

Pegasus - Edward Ratti

touching and sometimes frightening combinations.  One of the most remarkable is the exquisite "Pegasus" by Edward Ratti.  Mr. Ratti is one of the most enigmatic characters I have run across in studying the

Pegasus - detail

remarkable artists who have contributed their works to this incredible collection.  References to him are extremely limited and he is always listed as a "carver" rather than a sculptor.  But, interestingly, his work can be found in virtually every corner of our nations capitol - including the majestic 100 foot long tympanum pediment above the entrance to the National Archives and

Diana - Augustus Saint-Gaudens

the bas relief of "Wisdom" in the Senate of the United States.  (How we pray!!!)  And speaking of our capitol - one of the statues that touched me in a really unusual way was one of the many statues of "Diana" - this one by Augustus Saint-Gaudens.  I had to know more about the man who fashioned this evocative, yet serene, sculpture and what I found amazed me.  I won't try to recapture his biography here - but - Saint-Gaudens was commissioned by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907 to design a new $20.00 gold coin to supplement the existing $10.00 gold coin - then popularly known as "The Eagle."  Since the new coin was twice the value

Diana - Paul Manship

of the Eagle it came to be known as "The Double Eagle."  Extraordinarily beautiful and highly detailed, the coin was resented by the people responsible for producing it and, consequently, few were minted during the 26 years it was issued.  It came to be known as the most beautiful coin ever minted in the U.S. and one of the most beautiful in the world.  (I like it because it bears such a strong resemblance to the U.S. "Half Dollar" coin I grew up with.)  Anyway - Saint-Gaudens was an amazing artist!!  And speaking of Diana - she is everywhere in Brookgreen Gardens and every single sculpture is a masterpiece in it's own way.  I found the statues by Mrs. Huntington to be particularly beautiful but the one above by Paul

Manship was remarkable for the extraordinary eyes!!!  As we talked about earlier, fountains abound at Brookgreen and each one is a wonderful spot to pause and reflect on the world around you.  But there is absolutely no better

The Sculptor

place for such reflection than the "Fountain of the Muses."  This thoughfully designed piece represents the four branches of the "fine arts" - Poetry, Architecture, Music and Painting.  The fifth figure standing isolated to the left is the Sculptor who, like the painter and the musician - is still reaching for his gift from the gods.  All five

Madonna and Child

are shown rushing homeward, anxious to implement their new ideas!!! To me, the incredible juxtaposition of whimsical - yet deeply meaningful - representations such as this with other sculptures that touch the deepest centers of feeling in the human spirit is one of the rarest and most creative features of this astonishing place.  I believe it is virtually impossible to come here and to thoughtfully consider what these amazing artists were trying to tell us and not be moved to the core of your being.  Clearly, Archer and Anna Huntington were rare and gifted people who used their talents and their fortune to the betterment of mankind.

The Visionaries - Anna Hyatt Huntingto

Their passion for art in all its forms, their commitment to the environment and protection of nature's creatures and their deep compassion for their fellow man all give us reason to respect and appreciate them.  But, for those of us who are children of South Carolina it is virtually impossible to assess our debt to this remarkable couple.  In traveling around Brookgreen Sculpture Gardens, the rice and indigo plantation areas, the zoological park, Atalaya and Huntington State Park I find myself profoundly grateful for their presence on this earth.  I look at this statue of Archer and Anna (depicted in this sculpture by Anna as they discuss the plans for Brookgreen Gardens) and I am filled with admiration and respect for these remarkable human beings.  We'll be back soon with a new itinerary and more travels - so, rest up!!  See ya.

The Nature of Art - Brookgreen Gardens

Remember a while back when we talked about "interconnectedness?"  Well, the more we have explored the works of various artists, the more we have come to realize how closely woven their works are with those of others; of our own lives - even when we have no idea about it.  As I mentioned earlier, I have looked at
some of these sculptures and thought how very new and modern they were - only to learn that they were
completed in the 1920s or early 1900s.    Take, for example, the exquisite, fresh, mood evoking statue to the right by Sally Farnham.  It was sculpted in

The End of the Day - Sally James Farnham

Mares of Diomedes - Gutzon Borglum

1919!!!!!!!  Or the powerful, action packed bronze of the horses on the left.  It looks like it was just finished but the amazing work - sculpted by the man who carved out one of our nations most amazing treasures - Mount Rushmore - was completed in 1904!!!  And, yet another work that seems to me to be 'brand new' is the beautiful depiction of

Boy and Squirrel - Walter Hancock

interaction between youthful humans and animals by Walter Hancock on the right which he finished in 1928!!.  Wow!  By the way - we mentioned Mr. Borglum earlier.  Did you know that he started the enormous Confederate Memorial sculpture on the side of Stone Mountain in Georgia?  Yep, but he died before finishing it.  The final work was done by - you guessed it - Walter Hancock!!  But you can never get too complacent in trying to guess about the origin of these incredible art works, one of my favorites was cast by a wonderful lady who happens to be almost exactly my age - Sandy Scott.  The

Eat More Beef - Sandy Scott

whimsical title of the statue below brings to mind a contemporary advertising line (remember 'Eat Mor Chiken') but Ms. Scott's big fellow was completed in 1973!!  In thinking about all these marvelous masters, the message they all seem to be sending in a direct and powerful way is that we need to be ever mindful of the beauty and majesty of the creatures and plants on our planet and that we all have

Riders of the Dawn - Adolph Weinman

a huge stewardship responsibility to carry out.  In fact, the title of a book about Sandy Scott sort of tells it all ... "Spirit of the Wild Things."  Oh yes, I forgot to mention something.  I spoke briefly about Ms. Sally Farnham above.  She lived a long, full life and died in April of 1943 - just about the time some of the folks I have talked a lot about in these posts (ahem!) were entering the world!!!  Oh, if any of you ladies want to find out about someone who should be one of your true heroes, read about Ms. Farnahm.  Her contributions to the expanded role of women in our country are incalculable!!!   Y'know - I just realized that I have done an injustice to the folks at Brookgreen Gardens.  I have gone on and on about the sculpture but I have totally failed to mention how much care is taken to place each work in a location, position and environment - and - proximity to other works - that give the viewer the greatest opportunity to experience the piece with as much sensory and emotional impact as you can get.  The folks responsible for these arrangements are amazing artists in their own right and we deeply appreciate their skill and caring.  It's really hard to put into words how viewing these masterpieces affects you.  There are those that fill you with energy and excitement - pushing you to 'do something - now!!!'  Or they might give you that warm tickle inside your chest that can only be brought on by frolicking young animals.  But still others have the power to cause you to

The End of the Trail - James Earl Fraser

glimpse an overwhelming feeling of desolation, fatigue and hopelessness.  One that does that to me is the classic by James Fraser that I imagine just about everyone in our country has seen at one time or another.  I think this statue was outside during the early years of Brookgreen Gardens but

African Elephant Robert H. Rockwell

now it is safely inside in a beautiful gallery.  Another one of the early residents of Brookgreen is this mighty pachyderm that is also one of those that
evokes images of wildest Africa - with trumpeting, dust throwing and stamping.  Amazing.  Another of the energetic sculptures that seemed to me to be very young - but surprised me - was the one to the left that is actually part of a group of horses.  It was completed by Mr. MacMonnies in ... 1898!!!! ... and placed in to Brookgreen in 1934!!!  Imagine - one of the earliest!!.  By the way - you might be interested to know that the sculptor used wild mustangs as the subject for this work - gently urging them into their poses by the use of ropes and springs.  (PETA wasn't around then, huh?)  All of the extraordinary works we have looked at today really makes us want to get back down to the beach so we can re-visit Brookgreen to find all of the pieces we missed.  But, before we can do that - we still have a lot of sculptures to look at here!!!  We'll be back with more from Murrell's Inlet shortly and we'll continue to try to better identify the sculptures.  I realize there are

Reaching - EvAngelos William Frudakis

several really unique ones that are not properly identified and I apologize for that.  What we plan to do is continue working on the photos and, where I can, I'll go back to older posts to correct or add information as needed.  If you have a real interest you might want to look back at them - or - write to us and we'll try to give you more information. See ya.

Anna's Legacy - Brookgreen Gardens

I just realized that there are countless sites on the Internet that provide information about Brookgreen Gardens and that our photos and comments probably can't compete with the more professional works you can find.  What I can promise you, however, is that my comments about the Gardens and the statues you see here are totally genuine and come from the heart.  When we, as the "SCTravelersX3" go to a place it is not for any 'commercial' or 'publicity' reason.  It is because we have determined that the location has something that will enrich our lives in a unique way.  And - we have concluded that by seeing it ourselves - and - sharing it with you, we will all be better off!!!  So, that's why we are here and why we say the things we do.  I hope you can feel the sincerity of our feelings.  At any rate .....  the grounds at Brookgreen are exquisitely serene and are an almost guaranteed way to bring some peace into your soul.  As I might have mentioned before, we have been here many times in the past but it is almost as if every visit is the first time.  Actually, you could almost design the kind of experience you want to have and Brookgreen could accommodate you.  For example ... if you took the time to go back through our posts you would get to one that showed our tour of the canals in the North and West of the property.  Those waterways meander past the ancient rice and indigo fields that once were such a crucial underpinning of the economy along the South Carolina coast.  Or - you might find the pictures we posted from the Zoological Gardens that allow you to submerge yourself in the environment of the coastal denizens of our beautiful state and to see countless creatures "up close and personal" that many - if not most - folks might never see in their lifetime.  Or, you might even take a look across the highway if your interests lie in architecture or in the way people like the Huntingtons developed their "home away from home"

Raphell by Bruno Lucches

when they purchased a new property.  At Brookgreen, however, I think you will find all of these things - and more - all mixed into one incredible potpourri.  It is a combination that, in my opinion, presents the most favorable features of Anna and Archer Huntington.  But - let's get on with things!!  I'm not going to even attempt to tell you about the inner workings of Brookgreen gardens - how decisions about programs, displays, changes, etc., are made - but let me give you a very tiny picture of what

Boy and Panther by Rudulph Evans

is going on now.  Since the late 1990s the governing body of Brookgreen has had an aggressive "Artist In Residence" program that has brought in some of the most outstanding sculptors in the world - to give them an environment for creativity - so that they will have the freedom and opportunity to express their most creative energies - and so that they can be accessible to those who love and support art in all its forms.  An example of the kind of thought that led to the program (my interpretation) is the sculpture seen on the right - "Boy and Panther."  When I looked at that particular sculpture by Rudulph Evans it looked so fresh and new it was as if the artist completed it just a short while ago.  When I found that it was based on Mowgli and Bagheera - the characters from Kipling's "The Jungle Book" I said "Aha!!" That makes sense.  (Of

Wings of the Morning - M.M. Fredericks

"Wings" is based on Psalm 139

course I was thinking of the version my son had watched in the mid '70s!!)  It was only later I learned that Evans had completed the statue in 1919!!!!  Whoa!!  And then, I found that he was also the designer of the statue ofThomas Jefferson found in that fantastic forum at the Jefferson Memorial in our nation's capitol I was stunned.  Yeah ....  I know .... I'm getting my years all tangled up.  How can someone who lived from the 1870s until the 1960s have any bearing on what was done in the 1990s???  Well if you look at the concept of art and artists - it's clear.  Artists - sculptors - speak a language that is timeless!!!  It is vital that we expose our youngsters to these timeless geniuses who can show them that the beauty of art is a story that never grows old.  To me the Jefferson Memorial is one of the freshest, most inspiring monuments in our nation's capitol and I love it.  (And I find it unbelievable that it has been vandalized on occasion!!!!)  But the point is that if we allow these amazing artists to show us the way we can learn how to appreciate the entire spectrum of beauty created on the surface of our planet - natural and man-made - and - perhaps - we can come to know how important it is for us to champion creativity more than conflict!!! Another thing about the statuary at Brookgreen Gardens I find refreshing is the emphasis on youth.  Here you will find many, many statues that depict children, youths and young animals in all kinds of settings but what you have to be alert to notice is that this is not simply an emphasis on chronological youth - it is a celebration of the 'spirit' of youth.  A spirit that, hopefully, never grows old in any of us.  The youthfulness of thought, of creativity, of hope, of confidence.  It is a spirit that, if we pay attention to it, might just lead us in the right directions.  When you get the chance, pay close attention to the poetry found throughout the garden.  It reminds us of the value of art, of education, of respect for nature and, yes, of love.  I fervently hope that Brookgreen Garden and places like it around our country and the world can continue to serve as gleaming beacons of hope, peace and love and that their messages will continue to shine forth with increasing effectiveness.  We'll be back soon with some additional statues.  See ya.

I'm baaaaacccckkkkk!!!

For those of you who were experiencing "withdrawal symptoms" ...  I'm SORRY!!!  I had to go out of town to take care of some family business and was "incommunicado" for a few days.  I'm back in town now and will resume our trip to Brookgreen ASAP.  But - all was not wasted.  While I was returning from the upper part of the state I stopped by the site of a really unusual "green building" project outside the small town of Winnsboro.  The work is being done by a delightful young lady and her students from one of our fine technical schools.  For those of you who were interested in our visit to the "Earth Ship" project in Todos Santos while we were in Mexico, I think you'll get a bang out of this!!.  I'll get it worked up soon too!  For now though... hang in there .. I'll be back shortly.  See ya.

Poetry in Bronze and Marble - Brookgreen Gardens

Looking at the impish "Faun" as we left the gardens yesterday made us all smile or even chuckle a little.  Such a whimsical and earnest little creature!  We quickly moved into the welcome center and were transported into the real world of sculpture immediately.  The thing I found really cool about the whole visit was the absolute ease with which Mrs. Huntington integrated her own magnificent works into those of others who were more, less or equally talented.  She exhibited what I would describe as an absolutely pure love of art and nature and was deeply appreciative of the talent of 'mortal' artists and profoundly cognitive of the exquisite cosmic beauty in the world around her as illustrative of the grandest of all art masters.  I think the phenomenon is best illustrated by the repetitiveness with which a particular subject is

The Young Diana - Anna Huntington

displayed by an enormous range of artists and yet we judge each one for its own unique characteristics and we don't do "side-by-side" comparisons!!  Mrs. and Mr. Huntington were remarkably thoughtful and insightful people and their foresight in creating this incredible place - for the world to enjoy - it deeply appreciated.  During the time they spent here they welcomed visitors

Atalaya Castle - South Carolina

from all over the world and nurtured blooming careers in many different fields.  As a matter of fact, one of the best illustrations of their nature lies in the construction of their home on the other side of Highway 17 in what is now Huntington State Park and just a 'stone's throw' away from some of the best seafood restaurants on the East coast - in Murrell's Inlet, S. C.   In the last post I mentioned the 300+ acres that are dedicated to the sculpture gardens and zoological park - well - in all, the Huntingtons purchased three plantations surrounding this area and their property ultimately extended to several thousand acres.  Shortly after purchasing the original property, the Huntingtons decided to build their residence on the South side of Highway 17 to include studio space for Anna.  Archer was a lover of Spanish architecture and studied it extensively.  He obviously drew heavily from his knowledge of the Andalusian coast in his masonry design and even named their home "Atalaya" after a castle in Spain.  The name - meaning "watchtower" - is appropriate because the home is situated where it can forever oversee the happenings in this beautiful setting.  Completed in 1933, Atalaya, was built without a comprehensive set of plans and grew to thirty rooms and a central studio plaza.  Mr. Huntington insisted on using local workmen for the entire project in recognition of the devastating effects of the Great Depression on the local job market.  A while back we had a talk about "serendipity" and the interconnectedness of things in our universe.  Consider this.  The Huntingtons came to South Carolina because Anna suffered from tuberculosis and had been advised to move to a warmer climate than that of her beloved New England.  That decision ultimately led to the creation of this immortal legacy in sculpture but, even more than that, it created organizations, opportunities and ongoing employment for hundreds, if not thousands, of South Carolinians for the last ninety years.  Now don't get me wrong, Mr. and Mrs. Huntington left indelible imprints on countless spots on our planet but the fact is that because of a sheer 'accident' of health - time - and availability of land - the people of our state - and of the world have been left with a matchless bequest.  Thank you Anna and Archer.  We will treasure your gifts forever!!!  Sorry for waxing nostalgic there ... but - we'll close for now and let you rest up.  We have a ton of statues left to look at so come on back soon.  See ya.