Brookgreen Gardens expansive property exhibits the finest outdoor collection of American figurative sculpture in the world. It began in 1930 as a winter home for philanthropist Archer Milton Huntington and his wife, sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington. When the Huntingtons founded Brookgreen Gardens in the following year, they initially placed artworks from their own collection. By 1932, they had begun to actively purchase sculpture and to commission prominent sculptors to create works for the gardens. This volume portrays Brookgreens beginning as the first public sculpture garden in America and its rise as a respected museum of American sculpture. In 1992, it was designated a National Historic Landmark, recognizing Anna Hyatt Huntingtons status as an important sculptor and patron of the arts and Brookgreens significance as a site for womens history in America.
Stop, look, and discover—the streets and parks of Manhattan are filled with beautiful historic monuments that will entertain, stimulate, and inspire you. Among the 54 monuments in this volume are major figures in American history: Washington, Lincoln, Lafayette, Horace Greeley, and Gertrude Stein; more obscure figures: Daniel Butterfield, J. Marion Sims, and King Jagiello; as well as the icons of New York: Atlas, Prometheus, and the Firemen's Memorial. The monuments represent the work of some of America's best sculptors: Augustus Saint Gaudens’ Farragut and Sherman, Daniel Chester French’s Four Continents, and Anna Hyatt Huntington’s José Martí and Joan of Arc. Each monument, illustrated with black-and-white photographs, is located on a map of Manhattan and includes easy-to-follow directions. All the sculptures are considered both as historical mementos and as art. We learn of furious General Sherman court-martialing a civilian journalist, and also of exasperated Saint Gaudens’ proposing a hook-and-spring device for improving his assistants' artistic acuity as they help model Sherman. We discover how Lincoln dealt with a vociferous Confederate politician from Ohio, and why the Lincoln in Union Square doesn't rank as a top-notch Lincoln portrait. Sidebars reveal other aspects of the figure or event commemorated, using personal quotes, poems, excerpts from nineteenth-century periodicals (New York Times, Harper's Weekly), and writers ranging from Aeschylus, Washington Irving, and Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi to Mark Twain and Henryk Sienkiewicz. As a historical account, Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide is a fascinating look at figures and events that changed New York, the United States and the world. As an aesthetic handbook it provides a compact method for studying sculpture, inspired by Ayn Rand’s writings on art. For residents and tourists, and historians and students, who want to spend more time viewing and appreciating sculpture and New York history, this is the start of a unique voyage of discovery.
An oasis of art and nature, Brookgreen Gardens is America's first public sculpture garden and largest collection of American figurative sculpture. Founded in 1931 by Archer Milton Huntington and Anna Hyatt Huntington, its lush South Carolina coastal location is an exquisite setting for the more than two thousand works by four hundred twenty-five artists--including more than one hundred sculptures and other works by Anna Huntington, many placed in the gardens she designed. In 1984, Brookgreen was designated as a National Historic Landmark, highlighting the number of women sculptors whose work is presented in the collection, as well as the significance of the work of Anna Huntington. Today, Brookgreen has become a cultural institution unlike any other, blending sculpture, historic sites, botanical gardens, and the Lowcountry Zoo. As Brookgreen begins its ninetieth year, this volume celebrates the art, nature, and history ensconced in its 9,127 acres. More than one hundred color photographs; an introduction by president and CEO, Page Hayhurst Kiniry; and a foreword by its chairman of the board, Dick Rosen, bring Brookgreen Gardens to life on the page.
Capturing the majesty of Brookgreen Gardens, this book explores one of the nation's oldest and largest sculpture gardens, where more than 550 works of American figurative sculpture are displayed in landscaped settings. Having expanded to accommodate cultural and historic exhibits that illustrate the distinctive life, history, and natural beauty of the region, the gardens are located on a 10,000-acre nature preserve that stretches from the Waccamaw River to the Atlantic Ocean in the lowcountry of South Carolina. Detailed are how the concept for the gardens originated in the 1920s when philanthropist, author, and collector Archer M. Huntington and his wife, Anna Hyatt, a noted sculptor, purchased three historic plantations, and how over the years the Huntingtons purchased the works of major 19th- and 20th-century sculptors and commissioned settings for the placement of these works. Gardening enthusiasts will discover the legendary beauty and enchanting past of one of America's most celebrated public gardens, which was designated a National Historic Landmark and opened to the public in 1931.
In this splendidly detailed, generously illustrated text, the well-known American sculptor Richard McDermott Miller introduces the art of modeling the human figure in two media known for their liveliness and spontaneity. Recognizing the needs of the beginner as well as the interests of the professional artist, the book masterfully puts you quickly in possession of the basic procedures you'll need to get started, provides specific details on materials and tools, and launches you into actual projects specifically designed to teach you sculptural skills. The book first analyzes the human figure and describes the way the sculptor translates the figure into the modeled form: finding a personal style; working from photographs or memory; working from life; and capturing gesture, proportion and anatomy. Mr. Miller then describes, step by step, how to work with wax, how to sketch a small figure in wax, how to model the figure on a wax armature, and the process of hollow wax modeling. He follows the same procedure as he introduces working with plaster, from mixing it to modeling a hollow torso. Many other important topics, from mold-making techniques to working with models to finding out where and how to buy materials and tools, are presented. Throughout, Mr. Miller emphasizes the practice, rather than the theory of sculpture, emphasizing that, apart from the artist's need for personal expression, sculpture is a physical task involving the manipulation of materials. His concentration on the sculptor's working problems makes this an unusually useful and valuable guide to sculpting the human figure. Dover (1987) unabridged, slightly updated republication of the edition originally published by Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1971.
Brookgreen Gardens evolved into the cultural attraction it is today from its beginning in 1930 as a winter home for philanthropist Archer Milton Huntington and his wife, sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington. The 9,000-acre tract had been four rice plantations as early as the 18th century. Home to rice planters, sportsmen, statesmen, industrialists, horticulturists, soldiers, novelists, artists, and poets, Brookgreen has entertained the great and the humble throughout its 300-year history. This book provides photographic glimpses of the men, women, and places connected with the land that became Brookgreen Gardens and documents Brookgreen's emergence as America's first public sculpture garden. A National Historic Landmark, Brookgreen's significance rests in its history and in its future service to visitors.
Sculpture parks and gardens in America are a relatively recent development dating back to the 1930s with the establishment of Brookgreen in South Carolina. This is the first guide to 85 sculpture gardens and over 120 other sculpture attractions in America from the recently opened Kykuit, at the Rockefeller Estate in Tarrytown, New York, to the fabulous Hirshchorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington DC. The world's greatest sculptors, Rodin, Calder, Noguchi, Moore, Oldenburg and countless others are on display at these various sites. In addition, a wide range of America's most eccentric folk art is described. Anyone who loves art and wants to know where best to find it, will find this a most valuable guidebook.
Railroad and shipyard heir Archer Milton Huntington and his sculptor wife, Anna Hyatt Huntington, bought four former rice plantations on the northeastern coast of South Carolina in 1930 to create a winter home. The special nature of the 9,000-acre property, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Waccamaw River, prompted the couple to establish Brookgreen Gardens, the first public sculpture garden in America and a sanctuary for southeastern plants and animals. Archer Huntington's passion for the history and culture of Spain was shown in the home he designed. Inspired by the Moorish architecture of Spain and northern Africa, Atalaya was not the usual millionaire's beach resort, although it provided an economic boon to the area. The home was a retreat while Anna recuperated from tuberculosis and Archer continued his business and philanthropic interests. Today, Atalaya is part of Huntington Beach State Park where visitors tour the home with a docent or an audio tour and are intrigued by its design and the legacy of the Huntingtons.
