Clark Mills Studio

Clark Mills Studio

Clark Mills Studio
Location 51 Broad St., Charleston, South Carolina
Coordinates 32°46′33.89″N 79°55′47.66″W / 32.7760806°N 79.9299056°W / 32.7760806; -79.9299056Coordinates: 32°46′33.89″N 79°55′47.66″W / 32.7760806°N 79.9299056°W / 32.7760806; -79.9299056
Architect Unknown
Architectural style No Style Listed
Part of Charleston Historic District (#66000964)
NRHP Reference # 66000703
Significant dates
Added to NRHP October 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHL December 21, 1965[2]
Designated NHLDCP October 9, 1960

The Clark Mills Studio is a historic building at 51 Broad Street in Charleston, South Carolina. Built as a tenement house, it was the residence and studio between 1837 and 1848 of sculptor Clark Mills (1810–83). Mills is credited with creating the first cast equestrian bronze staue, the 1852 statue of Andrew Jackson at Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C..[3][4] It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965, and now houses professional offices.

Description and history

The former Mills Studio building is located Charleston's old city, on the south side of Broad Street just west of Church Street. It is a four story masonry structure, built out of stuccoed brick. Its front facade is now commercial, with store fronts on the ground floor, projecting bay windows on the second and third floors. The interior is also reflective of its modern uses, having been converted into professional offices around the turn of the 20th century.[3]

Mills' statue of Andrew Jackson

The building was originally built as a tenement house, and had two tenants in the 1830s, one of whom, Erastus Bulkeley, maintained a yard nearby from which he sold marble. When the other tenant moved out in 1837, Clark Mills rented that space, and established his residence and studio there. It is believed that it is here that the self-taught Mills produced his first significant work, a marble bust of South Carolina politician John C. Calhoun. In 1848 Mills was awarded the commission to produce a memorial statue to Andrew Jackson, to be located in Washington, D.C. His dynamic portrayal of Jackson, sitting astride a rearing horse, is remarkably balanced on the horse's two rear legs, and was the first American-cast full-size equestrian statue. Mills accomplished this by overweighting the rear of the horse to achieve the proper balance. He is best remembered more for his innovations in the engineering related to monumental sculpture than for the artistic merit of his output.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "Clark Mills Studio". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  3. 1 2 3 "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: The Clark Mills Studio / Clark Mills Studio, Stoney and Stoney Law Office" (pdf). National Park Service. and Accompanying three photos, two exterior of the building in 1975, and one of the Andrew Jackson Memorial Statue in 1970 (32 KB)
  4. ↑ "Clark Mills Studio, Charleston County (51 Broad St., Charleston)". National Register Properties in South Carolina listing. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
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