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Theme: Non-Discrimination in the Arts.
Title: A Tribute To Philip Simmons
Artist Note:
After touring Charleston, SC, and seeing many of the beautiful gates that he created, I had the honor of visiting Philip Simmons’ home and workshop. He graciously allowed me to take photographs, and even gave me his signature.
Mr. Simmons is now in his 90’s and still doing a limited amount of small work. Even after receiving acclaim for his lifelong achievements, he is still a humble man, and prefers to live in his familiar surroundings. As depicted in this Digital Composite, in his workshop the tools are simple.
Arlene Renee Finston
About Philip Simmons
Philip Simmons Philip Simmons is an internationally known blacksmith/ornamental gate maker. He has over 200 documented gates, balconies, and ornamental iron works that can be seen at homes and in museums all over America. In 1982, Philip Simmons was named a National Folk Treasure by the Smithsonian, and the National Park Service when one of his gates was selected to be displayed at the American History Museum at the Smithsonian.
Philip Simmons, now the most celebrated of Charleston ironworkers, was born on near-by Daniel Island on June 9, 1912. A Charleston resident since 1919, he attended local schools but received his most important education from local blacksmith Peter Simmons, who ran a busy shop at the foot of Calhoun Street. Here Philip Simmons
acquired the values and refined the talents that would sustain him throughout his long metalworking career.
Moving into the specialized fields of ornamental iron in 1938, Simmons fashioned more than five hundred decorative pieces of ornamental wrought iron: gates, fences, balconies, and window grills. The city of Charleston from end to end is truly decorated by his
hand.
In 1982, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded him its National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor that the United States can bestow on a traditional artist. This recognition was followed by a similar award by the South Carolina state legislature for "lifetime achievement" and commissions for public sculptures by the South Carolina State Museum and the city of Charleston.
Simmons was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame in Myrtle Beach, SC on January 31, 1994. The "Order of the Palmetto" the highest award given in the State, was presented to him by Governor David Beasley in 1998. In May of 2001, Philip Simmons received the Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Governor's Award for "Lifetime Achievement in the Arts."
Pieces of his work have been acquired as well by the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution; the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, NM; the Richland County Public Library, Columbia, SC, the Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, GA, and the Daniel Island Company, Daniel Island, SC.
In 1989, the vestry and congregation of his church (St. John's Reformed Episcopal Church, 91 Anson Street in downtown Charleston) dedicated the grounds of the church to develop a commemorative landscaped garden as a tribute to his exceptional mastery of wrought iron and in recognition of his inspirational character and self-assurance.
The above information is quoted from
John Michael Vlach, Author,
"Charleston Blacksmith: "The Work of Philip Simmons"
and the Philip Simmons Foundation, Inc.
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