Borglum, Gutzon, << BAWR gluhm, GUHT suhn >> (1867-1941), was an American sculptor best known for creating the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota. This work consists of huge portraits of four American presidents–George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln–carved out of a mountain (see Mount Rushmore National Memorial ). Borglum’s works are characterized by a powerful naturalistic style. Many of them reflect his fascination with enormous size and the beauty of animals, especially horses. His works also show the influence of his early life on the American frontier.
John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum was born of Danish parents near Bear Lake, Idaho, on March 25, 1867. He studied art in San Francisco and at the Academie Julian in Paris. There he was influenced by the vigorous modeling of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. In 1901, after success as a painter in England, Borglum settled in New York City. In 1904, his Mares of Diomedes, a dramatic bronze sculpture of stampeding horses, won a gold medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis.
In 1916, Borglum was commissioned to carve a huge memorial to the Confederate Army into Stone Mountain in Georgia. Borglum designed a long procession of Confederate troops led by General Robert E. Lee. Disputes with his sponsors led to Borglum’s dismissal before the project was completed. He realized his ambition of creating a gigantic sculpture from a mountain with the Mount Rushmore memorial, which he began in 1927. He worked on the project until his death, on March 6, 1941. Lincoln Borglum, his son, also worked on the memorial.
Other major works by Borglum include the monumental Wars in America (1927) in Newark, New Jersey; Trail Drivers Memorial (1940) in San Antonio, Texas; and two sculptures in Washington, D.C., a giant head of Abraham Lincoln (1908) in the U.S. Capitol and a statue of General Philip Sheridan (1909). Borglum’s younger brother, Solon, was also a noted sculptor.
