Philip Simmons

Philip Simmons, a renowned Charleston blacksmith, designed these wrought iron entrance gates, which were fabricated at the Simmons Blacksmith Shop by his apprentices Joseph Pringle, his cousin, and Carlton Simmons, his nephew. The men forged the gates into shape using hammers and an 18th century anvil. The design displays the symbolic scales of justice and the state's palmetto tree, and Simmons's signature folded ends and tight curves appear throughout the work. Born June 9, 1912, on Daniel Island, Simmons was hired at age thirteen as an apprentice to Peter Simons, who was no relation. During seventy-seven years of active practice, he created more than one thousand pieces of iron and steel work. His work is displayed at the Smithsonian Institution's Natural Museum of American History, the Museum of International Folk Art, and the South Carolina State Museum. Simmons was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame in 1994.

Columbia, South Carolina · United States