“The End of the Trail” by James Earle Fraser at Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.
A Native American man on horseback, wrapped in an animal skin; a lowered spear held loosely in the bend of his arm is bowed on the horse’s back. The horse shrinks before the wind, head hanging, mane and tail blown forward.
End of the Trail
“The Visionaries” by Anna Hyatt Huntington at Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina
This work was meant to commemorate the founders of Brookgreen Gardens. The figures in the composition are allegorical and are clothed in classical garments since they are not portraits of the founders.
The Visionaries
A sculpture of mother and baby birds at Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina
A Duck Family Sculpture
“Riders of the Dawn” by Adolph Alexander Weinman at Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet.
The horses plunge forward, half rearing, with forelegs doubled and heads tossing. One rider leans back to draw a bow while the other turns sidewise, blowing a conch. Beneath the horses is the rayed disc of the rising sun, with water curling in scrolls around it and rising beneath the horses in plumes of spray.
Taming Horses
Riders of the Dawn
Rider on a Galloping Horse
A sculpture of two Native Americans with spears and other weapons in the act of tracking or watching an unseen bison at Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina
Warriors
“Alligator Bender” by Nathaniel Choate at Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet.
A nude man seated on the back of an alligator, his legs gathered under him. His left hand grasps the jaw, his right arm curves around the tail, bending the creature’s body in a semi-circle.
Fighting a Gator
Among its varied collection of sculptures at Brookgreen Gardens, there are quite a few of animals.
“Lioness and Cub” by Hope Yandell – A female lion with her young cub. The lioness is standing, front left paw raised slightly. Her head is turned in the direction of her cub. They are positioned in a natural setting on a rock formation over a small pool.
Prowling in the Jungle
“Brown Bears” by Anna Hyatt Huntington is a bronze sculpture of a group of three bears
Brown Bears
“Joy of Motherhood” by Willard Hirsch at Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina.
This sculpture depicts the spirit of joy of life and, in particular, the physical and spiritual bonds between mother and child. Reflecting the sculptor’s personal belief that the joys of motherhood far outweigh the sorrows, this sculpture depicts a young mother at play with her child.
Mother and Child
With my interest in elephants, I was pleased to see elephant art at Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells Inlet.
“Trumpeting Elephant” by Alexander Phimister Proctor is an elephant striding forward, head raised trumpeting.
Raising Its Trunk
“Elephant” by Paul Troubetzkoy is an elephant without tusks standing quietly, one forefoot behind the other, back humped and trunk lowered.
Elephant Statue
At Brookgreen Gardens, “Triton on Dolphin” by Benjamin Franklin Hawkins depicts a young male figure (a triton) with fins for feet and a stiff crown of hair riding a dolphin.
Riding a Dolphin
“Girl with Dolphin” by Milton Horn has a girl baby riding a dolphin, holding its head with both hands.
Joy of Riding a Dolphin
Brookgreen Gardens contains the largest and most comprehensive collection of American figurative sculpture in the country, displayed in a stunning garden setting. Sculptures in the middle of ponds and fountains create neat reflections.
Gladiator Reflections
Brookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden and wildlife preserve, located just south of Murrells Inlet, in South Carolina. Though the gardens were somewhat dormant during our visit, the sculptures were fabulous.
“Fighting Stallions” by Anna Hyatt Huntington at the entrance to Brookgreen Gardens. Two horses, rearing on their hind legs, are striking each other with their front hooves and biting. One has sunk his teeth into the other’s neck as it throws back its head in pain. Their muscles are taut with struggle, and manes and tails disordered in combat. One nude rider clings desperately to a horse’s back, while the other, thrown on the ground, protects his head with an upthrown arm.
Dueling Horses
Ulalu is one of two sculptures by abstract artist Mark di Suvero in the North Carolina Art Museum Park. He makes huge works of art using a crane and an arc welder. Steel H-beams and plates are his material of choice.
Ulalu by Mark di Suvero
This prolific sculptor made work in wood, stone, and bronze. As a student in London, Henry Moore absorbed the influences around him, both the work of his contemporaries and the pre-Columbian and ancient art in the British Museum. It is easy to see a connection between Large Standing Figure and ancient art. This sculpture is displayed at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh.
Large Standing Figure: Knife Edge by Henry Spencer Moore
Known for his figurative sculptures that use Dutch wax cloth (popular throughout Africa) to explore cultural identity, Yinka Shonibare here, at the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, transforms a wisp of the same fabric into a playfully monumental sculpture that captures the wind like a giant sail.
Wind Sculpture II by Yinka Shonibare
At North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, Ronald Bladen’s, Three Elements are painted and burnished aluminum over welded steel structures, three parts, each element is H. 120 3/8 x W. 48 3/8 x D. 21 1/2 in.
Three Elements by Ronald Bladen
This extended line of 183 ceramic columns, created by Daniel Johnston, plays against the topography of the landscape. Ranging in height from several inches to several feet, the tops of the pillars form a level line to highlight the dips and rises of the rolling hillside at North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh.
Partial View of Installation 1-183
Askew, at North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, is part of a series of works that Roxy Paine describes as “dendroids,” treelike forms with elaborate branching structures. His sculptures are inspired by real trees but never truthful depictions of actual species. The stainless steel surfaces of the work change dramatically with the light.
Askew by Roxy Paine
The dynamic geometry, powerful size (26′ 7″ h x 30′ w x 15′ d), and expansive scale of Mark di Suvero’s work reflect his creative process in the No Fuss sculpture at North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh
No Fuss by Mark di Suvero
Placed at the threshold between the field and forest at North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, Crossroads/Trickster I marks a transitional point from public to private, manmade to natural, open to enclosed. The sculpture by Martha Jackson-Jarvis combines brightly colored Italian glass tiles, carnelian stones, and shattered bricks (recycled from the Polk youth correctional facility, located on this property from 1920 to 1997).
Crossroads/Trickster 1 by Martha Jackson-Jarvis
