Anyone who has visited Murrells Inlet in South Carolina is likely familiar with Brookgreen Gardens. This award-winning, floral jewel is renowned for its botanical gardens and sculpture collection. Brookgreen Gardens is, in fact, an outdoor museum containing the largest and most comprehensive collection of American figurative sculpture in the USA. The collection contains over 2,700 works by 425 artists! Here are a few of my favorites from a recent visit.
This beautiful bronze sculpture, Forest Idyl, is by Albin Polasek.
Triton on Dolphin, a charming limestone sculpture, is by Benjamin Franklin Hawkins.
This dramatic Samson and the Lion limestone sculpture was carved by Gleb Derujinsky.
This majestic bull, Toro Bravo, is by Charlotte Dunwiddie.
I’ve had the pleasure of wandering these spectacular gardens more than once. But it wasn’t until recently when I visited nearby Atalaya that Brookgreen Gardens became a whole lot more than just a beautiful garden full of splendid sculptures. Turns out, we owe our thanks to a remarkable woman named Anna Hyatt Huntington.
In 1930, Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington purchased 4 adjoining plantations along the South Carolina coast to form a 9,000-acre estate. “Drawing on her artistic talents as a sculptress, Anna Huntington formulated, designed and executed the twofold, original garden plan. The first, and most important, aspect of the plan was to preserve and protect the wonderful natural treasures. Her plan was to enhance the already beautiful native flora with additional plantings suitable to the area. The second part of the plan was designed to showcase her massive pieces of sculpture. This part of the plan evolved to include the work of other American sculptors in the garden displays.” writes Cindy Spicer in her book Carolina Edens.
Pictured below is the quintessential Lowcountry scene with live oaks draped in Spanish moss along a quiet creek. This charming scene was spotted near the boat dock in Brookgreen Gardens.
Half of the Huntington’s property was used to build Brookgreen Gardens which opened in 1932. Sixty years later, another 2,500 acres, including Atalaya (the Huntington’s winter home), was leased for free to the state of South Carolina. This area became beautiful Huntington Beach State Park.
Atalaya is a pleasant surprise; it’s unassuming, casual and surrounded by nature. It’s built in an unexpected style—being designed after the Moorish architecture of the Spanish Mediterranean Coast. There are inner courtyards filled with palm trees,…
… covered walkways of open brickwork,…
… and beautiful wrought iron grillwork.
The home was custom-designed by Anna Hyatt Huntington’s husband, Archer M. Huntington, an industrialist, philanthropist and noted authority on Spanish culture. Interestingly, it was this passion for Spanish culture that brought them together.
“After several years of casual acquaintance with Archer Huntington, she came into frequent association with him while serving on the planning committee for an exhibition of sculpture at the Hispanic Society of America, an institution that Huntington had founded. After a very brief courtship, they were married [in 1923] on their common birthdate, March 10, …. At the time of her marriage, she was forty-seven years old; her husband, fifty-three.” reports author Janis C Conner in her book Rediscoveries in American Sculpture.
Seeing the grandeur of Brookgreen Gardens, it might be tempting to assume Anna Hyatt Huntington walked into a successful artist’s career. But that’s not the case at all! By the time she married, she’d already spent 25 years developing her skills, building her career and earning a living—all despite the challenges of being a woman sculptor.
Anna Vaughn Hyatt was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1876. Wikipedia says “At a time when very few women were successful artists, she had a thriving career. Hyatt Huntington exhibited often, traveled widely, received critical acclaim at home and abroad, and won multiple awards and commissions.”
Here’s a stunning example of her work from Brookgreen Gardens. This spectacular piece, called Fillies Playing, was originally cast in 1956.
Viewing this piece, it’s apparent why Anna Hyatt Huntington became “known as one of the finest American animal sculptors of the twentieth century … Her knowledge of animal anatomy, the basis for her sculpture, was the result of a keen power of observation developed through childhood field trips with her father” says the US Dept of State website.
Nearly every account I’ve read of Anna Hyatt Huntington’s life credits her father, Alpheus Hyatt, with seeding her love of animals. He was a zoologist and paleontologist with an impressive academic/scientific career. Anna Hyatt’s sculpting career began in a collaboration with her older sister Harriett. Together they created a sculpture of the family dog which they exhibited at the National Sculpture Society in New York. Two years later, Anna Hyatt was working independently, exhibiting and selling her own animal sculptures. She held her first solo exhibition including 25 sculptures at the Boston Art Club when she was only 26!
Anna Hyatt often studied the animals at the Bronx Zoo while she lived in New York. Several of her works depicting tigers, lions and jaguars were influenced by these studies. Anna Hyatt’s skillful realism was soon recognized. In 1914, the New York Tribune reported “She knows not only their forms but their movements, the way they carry their heads, the way in which their feet grip the ground. There is something immediately convincing about these creatures of hers”.
Her sculpture Brown Bears, which is exhibited at Brookgreen Gardens, is a great case in point.
At the age of 31, Anna Hyatt moved from New York to France to work and exhibit. Two years later, she began work on a large equestrian statue featuring Joan of Arc. This effort led to one of her most famous works—a monument commemorating the 500th anniversary of Joan of Arc’s birth which is now located in New York City.
She continued to create and exhibit, winning awards and gaining recognition. When decorative outdoor sculpture started to gain popularity, Anna Hyatt shifted focus to this genre. She created another of her most famous works, Diana of the Chase, in 1922.
As described on the gallery sign at Brookgreen Gardens, “The Roman goddess of the hunt has just released her arrow as a hound leaps at her feet. Considered among Huntington’s finest works, and one of the few where the human figure is primary, Diana of the Chase was so popular Huntington eventually created a second version some twenty years later to satisfy public demand.”
Anna Hyatt Huntington was a prolific artist sculpting animal and garden sculptures well into her 90s. “She succeeded in every way against every odd,” says Art History Professor, Anne Higgonet “And that’s a lesson for women and a lesson for anyone who thinks they can’t become an artist.”
More Info
Brookgreen Gardens are located in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, USA. You can learn more about these beautiful sculpture gardens on the Brookgreen Gardens website.
You can learn more about Atalaya and Brookgreen Gardens on the National Park Service website.
Carolina Edens, by author Cindy Spicer, is a photographic tour of gardens, arboretums and nature preserves in North and South Carolina, USA. Brookgreen Gardens are included.
Janis C Conner’s book, Rediscoveries in American Sculpture, includes a fascinating description of Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington’s life and career.
The Art in Embassies – US Dept of State website mentions Anna Hyatt Huntington here.
You may also enjoy these FanningSparks blog posts:
. Sculpture Parks: Crafted Art + Crafted Nature
. Sculpture for the Home Garden.
Today’s Takeaways
1. Consider the story behind a beautiful garden, park or museum.
2. A keen power of observation can lead to success in art… and life.
3. Take a minute to appreciate the hard work, determination and generosity of others.
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