Philip Simmons, Charleston Blacksmith, Iron Gate (c

Philip Simmons, Charleston Blacksmith, Iron Gate (c. 1950s) assembled by Philip Simmons (1912-2009), Master Blacksmith, Charleston, South Carolina. This gate is an earlier work of Mr. Simmons and is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity from the Philip Simmons Foundation, Inc., Charleston, SC, certifying that Mr. Simmons assembled the iron pieces that formed the gate for the owners of the Pinckney Cafe at 18 Pinckney Street in Charleston, South Carolina, in the 1950s. The certificate states that "Mr. Simmons' recollection was that the owner brought him the materials and asked him to make the gate. There was no hand forging from a design by him. However, he did lay it out and welded the pieces together for a functioning gate. . . . .The material is wrought iron. It was not stamped by Mr. Simmons but he verified that he did assemble the pieces and installed it at the site." Artist information: Mr. Simmons became intrigued with ironwork as a young boy and developed the talents and knowledge that enabled him to sustain a long, productive, and highly decorated metalworking career. In 1938, he moved into the specialized field of ornamental ironwork and fashioned more than 500 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 U.S. can bestow on a traditional artist. He was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame in 1994 and in 1998 received the "Order of the Palmetto", the highest award given in the state. He received the Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Governor's Award for "Lifetime Achievement in the Arts" in 2001. Pieces of his work are in the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Smithsonian Institute, the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the South Carolina State Museum, Columbia, South Carolina. This is a rare opportunity to purchase a piece of Mr. Simmons' work.--Reserve $8,000