Sculpture at Brookgreen Gardens
Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet SC is a unique blending of art, nature, and history. The 9,100-acre property boasts a botanical garden, sculpture museum, and accredited zoo.
The founders of Brookgreen, Archer Milton, and Anna Hyatt Huntington, were heirs to a railroad fortune but used their wealth in service to the public. Their multi-disciplinary mission continues today. Get more info.
Sculpture Collection
Brookgreen Gardens’ 9,100-acre property includes an exceptional botanical garden and accredited zoo in addition to the largest, most comprehensive collection of American figurative sculpture. It also houses three galleries and a visible storage facility.
The museum is a non-profit and the entire site is maintained by volunteers. Its mission is to collect, exhibit, and preserve American figurative sculpture and Southeastern flora and fauna.
Founder Anna Hyatt Huntington and her husband Archer bought the property in 1930 as a winter retreat. Her passion for sculpture made the gardens an ideal place to display her collection.
Among the highlights are Rodin’s Study for Figure of Contemplation and Dreams and Walking Man. It is a sculpture that explores making the invisible visible and showing movement through space.
Offner Sculpture Learning & Research Center
Brookgreen is famous for its vast sculpture collections combined with sub-tropical Lowcountry landscapes to create a truly unique national treasure. A visit to the gardens reveals so much more including a small zoo and a meditative labyrinth along with a collection of domestic animals that help illustrate the importance of these animals in early plantation agriculture.
Bryan Rapp is a sculptor and the director of the Wallace Master Sculptor Program at Brookgreen Gardens. He works in the ancient clay-to-bronze tradition and teaches sculpture classes at Coastal Carolina University.
A former rice plantation Brookgreen honors the history of the area and its enslaved residents in exhibits and programs. A tour of the Lowcountry Trail or a visit to the onsite zoo are great ways to learn more about this fascinating culture. Explore more!
Master Sculpture Program
The Master of Arts Sculpture degree challenges you to become an articulate, self-aware, and directed fine artist. This full-time residency program emphasizes studio praxis and encourages creative insight in discussing visual discoveries with fellow graduate students and faculty.
Designed for students with varying levels of experience, the workshop will provide an introduction to the process of modeling the human figure by hand. Direct observation of a live model and discussion and critique with figurative sculptors will provide an opportunity to explore issues of expressiveness and metaphor.
The Campbell Sculpture Studio is free with admission and open to visitors each day the sculptor is in residence. Sculptors in Residence share their work processes with visitors, demonstrate stone carving techniques, and offer workshops. These programs are supported by a grant from the Martha Wallace Pellett Foundation.
Whispering Wings Butterfly Experience
When it comes to horticultural delights, few places can match Brookgreen Gardens. Moss-draped live oaks, blooming rose bushes, and vibrant azaleas are all part of this floral jewel. But there’s much more at this unique 9,100-acre garden that showcases the country’s largest collection of American figurative sculpture, wildlife preserve, and zoo.
Enclosed butterfly exhibits allow visitors to see dozens (or even hundreds) of butterflies in one spot. They’re filled with the flowers these delicate creatures love and need and protected from predators who would eat them. There’s even a pupae emergence room where visitors can watch butterflies emerge from their chrysalises!
This Lowcountry treasure also educates visitors about the Gullah Geechee people, descendants of West Africans brought to this area in the 1700s. The VP for Creative Education at Brookgreen Gardens, Ron Daise, is an expert on the culture, food, and language of these people.
Bleifeld Gallery
If you’re a fan of sculpture that’s “What you see is what you get,” this is the place to go. Anna Huntington felt that sculpture should be as natural a representation of its subject as possible and this philosophy is reflected throughout the collection.
Guests will find a wide variety of works on display in the Brown Sculpture Garden, the Bleifeld Gallery, and the Offner Sculpture Learning & Research Center. The latter was built on the site of a service building that for 50 years housed tools for the gardens’ staff.
A visit to Brookgreen Gardens isn’t complete without seeing the Whispering Wings Butterfly Experience, a seasonal attraction with over ten species of butterflies on display. You’ll also want to stop by the Noble Gallery, which features paintings and drawings inspired by the Gardens. Check our next area of interest here.
Driving directions from Clean Image Pressure Washing to Brookgreen Gardens
Driving directions from Brookgreen Gardens to Atalaya Castle
