Remember the name Philip Simmons. This Philip Simmons Plaque honors a master blacksmith. He became known nationally and internationally. Simmons’ decorative wrought iron pieces made him famous.
Simmons was born in 1912 and passed away in 2009. His career spanned nearly eight decades. He created over a thousand separate wrought iron pieces. These included gates and fences. Balconies, railings, and window grills were also his creations. He crafted smaller decorative pieces like hearts too. You can find his work throughout downtown Charleston.
Simmons’ craft reflects a long African American tradition. This tradition involves ironwork in the Lowcountry region. It developed during and after slavery. This was in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Simmons adapted to changing markets in the twentieth century. He transformed his blacksmithing trade. It became a source of creative art.
Simmons developed a unique style for his decorative ironwork. He insisted that they appear live. His snake gate has eyes and fangs. They give the illusion that they are ready to strike. Egrets on another gate appear ready to take flight. Fish seem to be swimming. Simmons’ ironwork features a distinctively tight curl. It’s patterned after centuries-old ironworks around the city.
The Charleston International Airport features his work. You can see a gazebo in the main lobby. A freestanding Simmons gate welcomes visitors. It stands at the Charleston Visitor Center.
Various national and international locations also feature Simmons’ work. In 1982, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History purchased Simmons’ Star and Fish Gate. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture will feature a collection of Simmons’s works. This includes a pair of driveway gates from a Charleston home.
The National Endowment for the Arts included Simmons in the first group of recipients for the National Heritage Fellowship Award in 1982. He was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame in 1994. He became a recipient of the prestigious Order of the Palmetto in 1998. In 2001, he received the state’s Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts. In 2005, he built the largest commission of his career. These are the entrance gates to the Matthew J. Perry Federal Court House in Columbia.
After his passing in 2009, Simmons’ home and workshop on Blake Street became a museum and gift shop. Simmons’ nephew, Carlton Simmons, continues to operate Simmons’ workshop. He follows his uncle’s tradition. He also develops his own unique designs.
The Philip Simmons Foundation was established in 1991. Its mission is to preserve his legacy. The foundation aims to maintain a commemorative garden.
John Paul Huguley called Philip Simmons a poet of ironwork. His ability to endow raw iron with pure lyricism is admired. He is recognized throughout America.
The Philip Simmons Plaque serves as a reminder. It honors a man who transformed iron into art. His legacy lives on in Charleston and beyond.