Gutzon Borglum

Born in 1867, Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum's interest in art developed early.

Plan Around Gutzon Borglum

A good stop is not just something to read about. Once it belongs on the day, move into a saved trip and build the route around it.

Add to trip View park guide

Use this detail page to confirm that the stop is worth it, then carry that decision into a trip draft while the park context is still fresh.

Gutzon Borglum Details

Born in 1867, sculptor Gutzon Borglum's family had immigrated to the U.S. from Denmark a few years earlier. His interest in art developed early, and he began his career as a lithographer's apprentice. He furthered his artistic ambitions at both the Julien Academy and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, developing a close friendship with the French sculptor Auguste Rodin, who carved *The Thinker*. Returning to the U.S. in 1901, Borglum achieved artistic success with pieces such as *Mares of Diomedes*, which was accepted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. A large bust of Abraham Lincoln, which now resides in the rotunda of the Capitol Building, prompted Helen Plane, president of United Daughters of the Confederacy, to contact Borglum about doing a bust of Robert E. Lee on the side of Stone Mountain in Georgia. Although Borglum agreed to a project featuring Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Jefferson Davis, trouble arose between Borglum and the businessmen directing the project, and he was dismissed. In 1923, Doane Robinson, the state historian of South Dakota, read about Stone Mountain and asked Borglum about the feasibility of a similar project in the Black Hills. Borglum visited South Dakota in 1924 at the age of 57 and agreed to do the project, returning in the summer of 1925 to set the process in motion. Borglum suggested a national subject for Rushmore: Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln; Theodore Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson were added soon afterward. By invoking Roosevelt's acquisition of the Panama Canal and Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase, the monument soon became a story of the expansion of the United States. Although Borglum did not constantly supervise the work at Rushmore, when he was there he climbed all over the mountain and hills to determine the best angle for each feature, and advised the carvers on creation of nuanced details. According to many who knew him, Borglum was a stubborn, insistent perfectionist, but these characteristics allowed him the vision to carve a mountain the size of Mount Rushmore. Work on the sculpture began in 1927, and Borglum remained devoted to its completion until his death in Chicago on March 6, 1941, several days before his 74th birthday. After his death, his son, Lincoln, completed his father's vision.

Difficulty

Open

Distance

N/A

Estimated time

N/A

Region

N/A