Tickets are now on sale for Brookgreen Gardens' annual Anna Hyatt Huntington Awards luncheon on March 27, 2025, in the Leonard Pavilion, celebrating the Brookgreen founder's life and lasting impact on the arts and philanthropy. This year's featured speaker will be Thayer Tolles, Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Tolles will deliver a keynote address on women in the arts as it relates to Brookgreen's renowned collection.
During the luncheon, Brookgreen Gardens will present the Anna Hyatt Huntington Woman of Vision Award to a contemporary woman who embodies Anna's creative and philanthropic spirit and uses her gifts and vision to advance the arts. This year's recipient is Brookgreen's own nationally recognized curator and art historian, Robin Salmon, who has dedicated 50 years of her career to the organization. Brookgreen will also present the Next Generation Scholarship to Coastal Carolina University student Theresa Glazer, whose creative gifts have had a positive impact on the community.
To purchase tickets to the awards luncheon, visit brookgreen.org/vision_award. All proceeds from the event directly support the Next Generation Scholarship program, empowering future artists and underscoring the partnership between Brookgreen Gardens and Coastal Carolina University.
"We invite the community to join us in honoring Anna Hyatt Huntington's enduring legacy at this annual award luncheon, notably held during Women's History Month," said Page Kiniry, president and CEO of Brookgreen Gardens. "This year, we are especially proud to recognize Robin Salmon for her five decades of extraordinary dedication to Brookgreen and to support the next generation of artists. We are also honored to welcome Dr. Tolles to the Gardens, who also embodies the same spirit of leadership in the arts."
Known as one of the finest American animal sculptors of the 20th century, Anna Hyatt Huntington created works that are displayed in public spaces around the world, as well as in numerous museums and private collections. In 1931, Anna and her husband, Archer, established Brookgreen Gardens, the first public sculpture garden in America and a preserve for native plants and animals. In 1992, Brookgreen Gardens was designated a National Historic Landmark due to Anna Hyatt Huntington's significance as an artist and patron of the arts and because of the number of women represented in the sculpture collection, making it a significant site for women's history in America.
About the Woman of Vision Honoree
A native of Columbia, S.C., Robin R. Salmon began her work at Brookgreen Gardens in 1975, and today, she is a nationally known curator, writer, lecturer, and art historian. In her current role as Brookgreen's Vice President of Art and Historical Collections and Curator of Sculpture, Salmon directs the acquisition, exhibition, interpretation, and conservation of the Gardens' art, history, library, and archives collections, as well as oversees the work of the Simpson Art Center. She serves on the board of directors of the National Sculpture Society, where she was awarded the Medal of Honor, and on the Council of Advisors of the Women's Suffrage National Monument Foundation. The Secretary of the Treasury appointed her to a four-year term on the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee of the U.S. Mint, 2020 – 2024. Locally, Salmon is the President of the Georgetown County Historical Society and Museum board of directors and serves on the Georgetown County Women's Hall of Fame Committee.
About the Next Generation Scholar
Theresa Glazer, a native of Rye Brook, New York, has had a passion for art since childhood, but her involvement deepened once she became a student at Coastal Carolina University. Currently pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts in art studio with a minor in biology, Theresa draws deep inspiration from nature. The diverse landscapes and sculptures of Brookgreen Gardens have played a significant role in shaping her creative journey.
About the Speaker
Thayer Tolles is the Marica F. Vilcek Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. A sculpture specialist, she served as editor and co-author of a two-volume catalogue of The Met's historical American sculpture collection (1999, 2001) and has lectured and published extensively on 19th- and early 20th-century topics. Among her exhibitions are Augustus Saint-Gaudens in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009) and The American West in Bronze, 1850-1925 (2013-15), both accompanied by publications. Dr. Tolles contributed to the museum's sesquicentennial exhibition, and accompanying publication, Making The Met, 1870-2020 (2020), and most recently was curator of A Decade on Paper, which surveys recent acquisitions of works on paper in The Met's American Wing (2024-25). A graduate of Williams College, Dr. Tolles received her M.A. from the University of Delaware and her Ph.D. from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Since 2017, she has also served as President of the Saint-Gaudens Memorial, the non-profit partner of the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park in Cornish, New Hampshire.
For more information about Brookgreen Gardens, visit www.brookgreen.org.