Borglum, Gutzon Encyclopedia > People > Literature and the Arts > American and Canadian Art: Biographies Gutzon Borglum Borglum, Gutzon (John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum)gŭtˈsən dĕ lˈə mät bôrˈgləm, 1867–1941, American sculptor, b. Idaho; son of a Danish immigrant physician and rancher. He studied at the San Francisco Art Academy and in Paris at Julian's academy and the École des Beaux-Arts. His first commission after his return to New York in 1901 was the statue of Lincoln that stands in the rotunda of the Capitol, Washington, D.C. Other works of his earlier period include another figure of Lincoln (Newark), a statue of Henry Ward Beecher (Brooklyn), Mares of Diomedes (Metropolitan Mus.), and figures of the apostles created for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City. Borglum is most famous, however, for his monumental works.

He designed the first of these, a Confederate memorial on Stone Mt., Ga., and began carving it in 1916. The work was interrupted by World War I but was resumed in 1924. As the result of an acrimonious controversy with the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, he ceased working and destroyed his models. Moving to South Dakota, Borglum began work on the gigantic Mount Rushmore National Memorial in 1927. One of the largest sculptural projects in existence, the memorial was also a great engineering feat. Borglum had nearly finished the 60-ft (18.3-m) heads of the four presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt) when he died. Plans for an even more ambitious composition were abandoned and the work was finished (1941) by his son Lincoln. Borglum was a man of tremendous vitality and decided opinions that led him into frequent confrontations. His brother Solon Hannibal Borglum, 1868–1922, was also a sculptor, noted especially for his portrayal of horses, cattle, Native Americans, and cowboys. See R. J. Casey and M.

Borglum, Give the Man Room: the Story of Gutzon Borglum (1952); W. Price, Gutzon Borglum, Artist and Patriot (1961); A. M. Davies, Solon H. Borglum (1974); J. Taliaferro, Great White Fathers: The Story of the Obsessive Quest to Create Mount Rushmore (2002). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. Gutzon Borglum facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Gutzon Borglum The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright The Columbia University Press Gutzon Borglum (John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum) (gŭt´sən dĕ l´ə mät bôr´gləm), 1867–1941, American sculptor, b. Idaho; son of a Danish immigrant physician and rancher. He studied at the San Francisco Art Academy and in Paris at Julian's academy and the École des Beaux-Arts.

His first commission after his return to New York in 1901 was the statue of Lincoln that stands in the rotunda of the Capitol, Washington, D.C. Other works of his earlier period include another figure of Lincoln (Newark), a statue of Henry Ward Beecher (Brooklyn), Mares of Diomedes (Metropolitan Mus.), and figures of the apostles created for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City. Borglum is most famous, however, for his monumental works. He designed the first of these, a Confederate memorial on Stone Mt., Ga., and began carving it in 1916. The work was interrupted by World War I but was resumed in 1924. As the result of an acrimonious controversy with the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, he ceased working and destroyed his models. Moving to South Dakota, Borglum began work on the gigantic Mount Rushmore National Memorial in 1927. One of the largest sculptural projects in existence, the memorial was also a great engineering feat.

Borglum had nearly finished the 60-ft (18.3-m) heads of the four presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt) when he died. Plans for an even more ambitious composition were abandoned and the work was finished (1941) by his son Lincoln. Borglum was a man of tremendous vitality and decided opinions that led him into frequent confrontations. His brother Solon Hannibal Borglum, 1868–1922, was also a sculptor, noted especially for his portrayal of horses, cattle, Native Americans, and cowboys. See R. J. Casey and M. Borglum, Give the Man Room: the Story of Gutzon Borglum (1952); W. Price, Gutzon Borglum, Artist and Patriot (1961); A. M. Davies, Solon H. Borglum (1974); J. Taliaferro, Great White Fathers: The Story of the Obsessive Quest to Create Mount Rushmore (2002). Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA Gutzon Borglum | American sculptor | Britannica.com American sculptor Alternative Title: John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum Gutzon Borglum John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum born Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gutzon Borglum, in full John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum (born March 25, 1867, St. Charles, Bear Lake, Idaho , U.S.—died March 6, 1941, Chicago , Illinois ), American sculptor, who is best known for his colossal sculpture of the faces of four U.S. presidents on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota . Gutzon Borglum. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [LC-DIG-ggbain-19378] The son of Danish immigrants, Borglum was raised from age seven in Nebraska . He studied art in San Francisco and then, from 1890 to 1893, in Paris at the Académie Julian and the École des Beaux-Arts .

Both his painting and his sculpture were admitted to the officially recognized Salon there, and while in England from 1896 to 1901 he received important commissions and royal recognition. In 1901 Borglum established himself in New York City , where he sculpted a bronze group called The Mares of Diomedes, the first piece of American sculpture bought for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Versatile and prolific , he sculpted many portrait busts of American leaders, as well as of figures such as the Twelve Apostles, which he created for the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York. But he soon turned toward what his wife, Elizabeth Janes Putnam, a scholar in cuneiform and other Middle Eastern scripts, described as “the emotional value of volume.” Reviving the ancient Egyptian practice of carving gargantuan statues of political figures in natural formations of rock, he executed from a six-ton block of marble a colossal head of President Abraham Lincoln that was placed in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. This inspired a group of Southern women to commission a similar head of the Confederate general Robert E. Lee .

Borglum was moved to begin instead a titanic sculptural procession of Lee and his staff and soldiers marching across the face of Stone Mountain in Decatur , Georgia . He began cutting away rock in 1916 and was able to unveil the head of Lee in 1924, but disputes with his patrons led Borglum shortly thereafter to abandon the enormous work, which was completed by others. In 1927 Borglum was commissioned by the state of South Dakota to turn Mount Rushmore , in the Black Hills , into another colossal monument. That year he began sculpting the 60-foot-high heads of George Washington , Thomas Jefferson , Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt on the face of the mountain, and in 1929 the United States government began financing the project, which would become a national memorial. Borglum brought all his engineering prowess to bear on this project, and he invented new methods that took advantage of the capacity of dynamite and pneumatic hammers to carve large quantities of stone quickly. Washington’s head was unveiled in 1930, Jefferson’s in 1936, Lincoln’s in 1937, and Roosevelt’s in 1939.

The work was completed in 1941, the year of Borglum’s death, although the last details were completed by his son, Lincoln Borglum. Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota, U.S. © C. Borland—PhotoLink/Getty Images Gutzon Borglum - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up) (1867-1941), U.S. sculptor. Born on March 25, 1867, near Bear Lake, Idaho Territory, Gutzon Borglum studied art in San Francisco and Paris and kept a studio in London. In 1901 he settled in New York, where he sculpted a bronze group called The Mares of Diomedes. He became famous for his bronze sculptures of historical figures, such as his head of Abraham Lincoln in the United States Capitol rotunda. In 1927 he was commissioned to carve giant stone portraits on the face of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota after he had started a similar work in Georgia. The sculpture was unveiled in sections between 1930 and 1939.

Article History GUTZON BORGLUM (1867-1941) Sculptor of Mount Rushmore | FORGOTTEN NEWSMAKERS RSS Feed GUTZON BORGLUM (1867-1941) Sculptor of Mount Rushmore In American Artists , American History , American Presidents , Artists , Biography , Mt. Rushmore , People , Sculpture on August 3, 2010 at 1:11 PM Gutzon Borglum John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum’s father, a Danish Mormon, was a bigamist. He was married to Borglum’s mother and her sister. Their life in Idaho and Utah was accommodating, but when they moved to Nebraska, Borglum’s dad decided to restructure his family to fit in better. He divorced Borglum’s mom but stayed married to his aunt. It’s hard to know how this influenced the young man, but as an adult he was very independent with an ego as big as a mountain. When he was sixteen, the family moved to Los Angeles where Borglum started to express himself artistically.

He teacher was Elizabeth Jaynes Putnam, an accomplished painter who was 18 years older than her student. Their relationship soon turned personal, and they were married in 1889 when Borglum was 22 years old. Borglum had great success early on, and his portrait of General John C. Fremont led to his first patron, Fremont’s wife, who introduced him to Leland Stanford and Theodore Roosevelt. CARVING OUT A CAREER When the Borglums went to Paris, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian. Both he and his wife mounted successful exhibitions. The biggest artistic influence was his encounter with Auguste Rodin, and he abandoned painting for sculpture. Since his brother Solon was a sculptor, sibling rivalry also could have been a factor in changing his medium. When Borglum and his wife returned to California the state was in a deep financial depression, and artists weren’t able to get commissions. In 1896 they ventured to London where he had some of his art on display in Windsor Castle for Queen Victoria. As Borglum’s career started to out shine his wife’s, the marriage suffered.

He left Europe in 1901 alone to return to the United States. Onboard the ship bound for America, Borglum met Mary Montgomery, a younger woman returning from Berlin. She was one of the first two women to ever earn a doctorate in Berlin and had mastered six languages. He respected her intelligence and passion and the balance she brought to his life. Finally, in 1909, Putnam granted Borglum a divorce and he and Montgomery were married. The couple moved to Connecticut and settled on a farm they called “Borgland.” Three years later a son, Lincoln, was born followed by a daughter, Mary Ellis. Borglum grew increasingly famous as he developed his own style of “American” art. His sculpture Mares of Diomedes was a gold medal winner at the 1904 St. Louis Exposition, and it was the first sculpture by an American artist accepted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His greatest notoriety came with a bust of Abraham Lincoln which was originally displayed in Theodore Roosevelt’s White House and is currently exhibited in the rotunda of the Capital building. PLAYING POLITICS Art was not the only contribution Borglum made to American society.

He was outspoken about his political opinions and tried to wield some celebrity influence by campaigning for Roosevelt’s reelection in 1912. During the Wilson administration Borglum, in a departure from his usual focus, investigated malpractices in aircraft manufacture and reported his findings directly to President Wilson. Borglum and the president disagreed about how the artist became involved in such an investigation, and their dispute became public. Borglum was adamant that President Wilson specifically appointed him to the task and published letters in the New York Times defending his involvement. The president, in letters to Borglum and the Secretary of War which the White House also released to the New York Times, tried to distance himself from Borglum appreciating his discoveries but apparently not wanting to be linked too closely to the man. MOVING A MOUNTAIN It was Borglum’s bust of Lincoln that led to his first mountain carving. He was invited by the Daughters of the Confederacy to carve a bust of Robert E. Lee in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Upon visiting the site he declared that doing just the head of Lee would be as impressive as a postage stamp on a barn door.

Instead, he created a design of a more appropriate scale that incorporated Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson on horseback in front of a row of soldiers. He started carving the piece in 1923 with chisels and jackhammers until he learned the art of using dynamite for detail work from a Belgian engineer. Borglum joined the Ku Klux Klan while he was developing this project. It’s not clear if he did it as an expression of his core beliefs or to patronize the backers. He was known to shun anyone who could not directly help him through money or influence. Borglum’s artistic temperament clashed with the patrons and he was kicked off the job. Another artist was hired to complete the monument, and ultimately none of Borglum’s work survived. He did benefit from the work he did, however, by developing techniques he used on later projects. BIGGER IS BETTER While Borglum was working on Stone Mountain, the state historian from South Dakota tempted him with the idea of creating a sculpture in the mountains of the Black Hills.

The sculptor saw the potential for more national recognition than the Georgia project afforded him, so he agreed to the challenge and uprooted his family, moving them to Keystone, South Dakota. His original subjects were Washington and Lincoln. The Louisiana Purchase by Jefferson and the acquisition Panama Canal by Roosevelt expanded the story of the monument to the Manifest Destiny of the United States, and those two profiles were added to the design. Borglum began carving the mountain in 1927 when he was 60 years old. Borglum is responsible for creating the model and picking the site for the carving. During the sculpting he was often more supervisory than hands-on. He would climb all over the mountain to find the best angle for the features of each bust, often insisting on the accuracy of details that could not be seen from ground level. For long periods of time he turned the reigns over to his assistants, including his son Lincoln, while he traveled to Washington D.C. to get more funding or to Europe to work on other commissioned projects. Whenever he returned to Mt. Rushmore, he would resume micromanaging the workers. BITING THE HAND THAT FED HIM Again his artistic temperament got him into trouble.

John Boland was chairman of the Mt. Rushmore executive committee and responsible for all the finances on the project. He was both a friend and nemesis to Borglum. When money became tight for the artist, it was Boland who guaranteed bank loans so he could keep his home. On occasion, the businessman even kept Borglum afloat with a personal loan. But Borglum didn’t like being beholden to anyone. He fired some of the best workers and frequently butted heads with Boland, always insisting on doing things his way. These clashes led to a rift in their relationship. Eventually, however, their wives intervened and conspired to effect a successful reconciliation between the two men. Borglum never got to see the Mt. Rushmore project completed. He died in 1941 at the age of 74 from complications related to surgery. His son, Lincoln, took charge, working one additional season, but the monument basically remained the way his father left it. QUESTION: What is your favorite kind of art? Would you rather observe someone else’s art or make it yourself?

©2010 Debbie Foulkes All Rights Reserved Sources: Borglum, Gutzon - definition of Borglum, Gutzon in English | Oxford Dictionaries Definition of Borglum, Gutzon in English: Borglum, Gutzon proper noun (1867–1941), US sculptor; full name John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum. His most famous work is the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, which features the monumental heads of US presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and T. Roosevelt. The work, begun in 1927, was completed in 1941 with the help of his son Lincoln Borglum(1912–86) Pronunciation Matching verbs to collective nouns Which of these sentences is correct? The government are committed to education reform. The government is committed to education reform. Which of these sentences is correct? The interview panel comprise three women. The interview panel comprises three women. Which of these sentences is correct? We believe the jury have reached their verdict. We believe the jury has reached their verdict. Which of these sentences is correct? Every team have to consist of three players.

Every team has to consist of three players. Which of these sentences is correct? Each band performs three songs. Each band perform three songs. Which of these sentences is correct? More people are shopping online. More people is shopping online. Which of these sentences is correct? People need to be aware of the dangers. People needs to be aware of the dangers. Which of these sentences is correct? The dance troupe is performing later. The dance troupe are performing later. Which of these sentences is correct? Every family owns a TV. Every family own a TV. Which of these sentences is correct? His platoon are advancing on enemy positions. His platoon is advancing on enemy positions. You scored /10 practise again? Retry Most popular in the world Australia 12 Photos Mount Rushmore Creator Gutzon Borglum American sculptor Gutzon Borglum is widely recognized as the mastermind behind one of the most famous national monuments in the United States, Mount Rushmore . Borglum, born in 1867, grew up in Idaho and Nebraska and was largely reputed to have a knack for all things art-related even at a very young age.

He attended the Academie Julian in Paris, where he met and grew fond of the artist Auguste Rodin. With Rodin as a strong influence, he moved back to the United States and is credited for many of the sculptures at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City, a sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and even a large sculpture of Lincoln's head in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington DC. Another notable work was the sculpture on Stone Mountain near Atlanta. Borglum certainly was a reputable and well-known artist before his grand vision of Mount Rushmore came to mind, but Mount Rushmore is by far his most recognized creation. Mount Rushmore actually was a 15 year long project that lasted from 1927 until Borglum's death in 1941. Mount Rushmore boasts the faces of presidents Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, and Roosevelt carved and dynamite blasted into the face of a granite stone cliff. Borglum was responsible not only for the design of the sculpture, but he also was instrumental in raising funds for this massive project, garnishing local and federal support, and overseeing the actual construction work.

While Borglum toured the world in search of support and funds, the work on the project continued under the oversight of Borglum's son. Borglum died shortly before the project reached its current state, and Borglum's son did continue with the efforts for a few months after his death. However, if you visit Mount Rushmore today, the monument is largely how it was at the time of Borglum's death. The life of Gutzon Borglum was largely devoted to creating larger than life works of art, and many of his works depicted patriotic scenes or themes. For many visitors to the Black Hills of South Dakota today, Mount Rushmore is the most popular attraction to visit. If you travel to other areas of the country where his works stand today, such as in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, Capitol Hill in Washington DC, or Stone Mountain in Atlanta, to name just a few, be sure to check out his other famous works of art. Search: Gutzon Borglum . Mount Rushmore .

WGBH American Experience | PBS Other Biographies John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum liked to tinker with his own legend, subtracting a few years from his age, changing the story of his parentage. The best archival research has revealed that he was born in 1867 to one of the wives of a Danish Mormon bigamist. When his father decided to conform to societal norms that were pressing westward with the pioneers, he abandoned Gutzon's mother, and remained married to his first wife, her sister. In 1884, when Gutzon was 16, the family moved to Los Angeles. His father, unhappy in California, soon returned to Nebraska, but Gutzon stayed behind. He studied art and met Elizabeth Jaynes Putnam, a painter and divorcee 18 years his senior. Lisa Putnam became a teacher and mentor to Gutzon, helping manage his career and advising his education. They were married in 1889. While in California, Gutzon painted a portrait of General John C. Fremont and learned the value of having a wealthy and socially connected patron.

Although the general died a few years after sitting for his painting, his widow provided Borglum with contacts to men such as Leland Stanford and Theodore Roosevelt. The Borglums traveled to Paris to work and study, and there Gutzon met sculptor Auguste Rodin. As much as he admired Rodin, more than one historian has suggested that the reason Gutzon gave up painting was to compete with his brother Solon, who had been making his name as a sculptor. Gutzon's talent was immediately apparent and he found a few commissions (certainly the fact that Solon had already associated the name Borglum with fine sculpture didn't hurt). At the same time, Gutzon's marriage was falling apart. He left Paris alone in 1901 and aboard ship met Mary Montgomery , an American who had just completed her doctorate at the University of Berlin. He and Mary wed as soon as Lisa granted him a divorce. They bought a house and farm in Connecticut and named it "Borgland." Borglum's major work back in America included a bust of Abraham Lincoln , which he was able to exhibit in Theodore Roosevelt's White House.

The Lincoln portrait and other much admired works gave Borglum a national reputation, and he was invited by Helen Plane of the United Daughters of the Confederacy to carve a bust of Robert E. Lee on Stone Mountain in Georgia. Borglum's conception was bigger than Plane's and Stone Mountain became his first mountain carving project, and where Borglum developed some of the techniques that would later be used on Rushmore. While at Stone Mountain, Borglum became associated with the newly reborn Ku Klux Klan . Whether this accorded with a racist world view, or if it was simply one way to bond with some of his patrons on the Stone Mountain project, is unclear. Frankly, Borglum had little time for anyone, white or black, who was not a Congressman or millionaire, or happened to be in his way. There is no indication, for example, that he treated his long-suffering black chauffeur Charlie Johnson any differently than any white employee -- he owed him back pay just like everyone else. Stone Mountain was not finished by Borglum, but it inspired his next job: Mount Rushmore.

When South Dakota state historian Doane Robinson read about Stone Mountain, he invited Borglum out to the Black Hills of South Dakota to create a monument there. Borglum, perhaps realizing that Stone Mountain had only regional support, immediately suggested a national subject for Rushmore: Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Theodore Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson were added to the program soon afterward. Borglum had met and campaigned for Roosevelt, and by invoking that president's acquisition of the Panama Canal and Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase, the Rushmore monument became a story of the expansion of the United States, the embodiment of Manifest Destiny. Work on the mountain was not constantly supervised by Borglum. When he was at Rushmore, Borglum would be climbing all over the mountain and all over the hills, to determine the best angle for each feature, and advising the carvers on how to create the nuanced details that might not even be visible from below. But after creating the models, siting the sculpture, and developing methods for transferring the image to the mountain and carving the rock , there were long periods during which Borglum's presence was not required. He would often leave his assistants, including his son Lincoln , to supervise the work and then travel.

He would go to Washington, D.C. to lobby for more money, and he also traveled around the world, finding and completing other commissions, sculpting a Thomas Paine for Paris and a Woodrow Wilson (for Poland, and meeting politicians and celebrities such as Helen Keller. (Helping her feel pieces by his old friend Rodin, he recalled her comment: "Meeting you is like a visit from the gods." He sometimes felt the same way about himself, writing in his journal: "I must see, think, feel and draw in Thor's dimension.") When he returned to the Dakotas, a rock might have been roughly blasted into an egg shape and he would be back to looking over every detail. Borglum's stubborn insistence on having things done his way led to numerous confrontations with John Boland , who chaired the executive committee of the Mount Rushmore Commission. His temper and perfectionism caused him to fire his best workmen (who then had to be hired back by Borglum's son Lincoln). Borglum's ambition and hubris motivated him to recreate a landscape in his image (a tableau of prominent white men) rather than for the Native Americans who held the Black Hills sacred.

Borglum was stubborn, insistent, temperamental, perfectionist, high-reaching, and proud -- but these were also the characteristics that were required to carve a mountain. Big, brash, almost larger than life, only a man like Gutzon Borglum could have conceived of and created the monument on Mount Rushmore. On March 6, 1941, Borglum died, following complications after surgery. His son finished another season at Rushmore, but left the monument largely in the state of completion it had reached under his father's direction. Sculpture - Gutzon Borglum - The Link from Mount Rushmore to Denmark The link from Mount Rushmore to Denmark Back to Expressionism John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum was an American sculptor, born in Idaho, to Danish parents. The original Danish family name was Bï¿½rglum, originating from a small village of the same name, located in the region of Vendsyssel in the Northern part of Jutland. The village, situated in a rather arid part of Denmark, houses a medieval monastery. Denmark 1980. Borglum Monastery.

The stamp is engraved by Czeslaw Slania. Borglum was raised in California and trained in Paris at the Acadï¿½mie Julian, where he came to know Auguste Rodin, and was much influenced by Rodin's dynamic impressionistic light-catching surfaces. Back in the U.S., in New York he sculpted about a hundred saints and apostles for the new Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in 1901, and got also a sculpture accepted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the first sculpture by a living American the museum had ever purchased, and made his presence further felt with some well-placed portraits. Very soon he had a national reputation. Borglum is most famous for creating the monumental Presidents' Heads at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota. He designed the first of these, a Confederate memorial on Stone Mt., Ga., and began carving it in 1916. The work was interrupted by World War I but was resumed in 1924. As the result of an acrimonious controversy with the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, he ceased working and destroyed his models. USA 2002. Greetings stamp from South Dakota.

Mount Rushmore, sculpted by Gutzon Borglum. Moving to South Dakota, Borglum began work on the gigantic Mount Rushmore National Memorial in 1927. One of the largest sculptural projects in existence, the memorial was also a great engineering feat. Borglum had nearly finished the 60-ft (18.3-m) heads of the four presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt) when he died. Plans for an even more ambitious composition were abandoned and the work was finished (1941) by his son Lincoln. Borglum is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale in the Memorial Court of Honor. His second wife, Mary Montgomery Williams Borglum, 1874ï¿½1955, is interred by his side. The link back to Denmark, the land of his ancestors, consists of the gigantic Legoland Amusement Park, located in Central Jutland, which contains -- among many other world famous monuments -- a huge miniature sculpture of Mount Rushmore, fully constructed of Lego Bricks. USA 1959. Lincoln Sesquicentennial Issue.

Abraham Lincoln sculpted by Gutzon Borglum. Denmark, Legoland. Webmaster's private photograph of Mount Rushmore Memorial, constructed of Lego Bricks. Denmark 1989. Europa Stamp. Toys for Children. Lego Bricks. Borglumï¿½s studio, located near the Mount Rushmore Memorial, displays plaster models and tools used in creating the statues. A fascination with gigantic scale and themes of heroic nationalism suited Borglum's extroverted personality. His head of Abraham Lincoln, carved from a six-ton block of marble, was exhibited in Theodore Roosevelt's White House, and can be found in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. A bully patriot, believing that the "monuments we have built are not our own," he looked to create art that was "American, drawn from American sources, memorializing American achievement" according to a 1908 interview article. Other than Denmark a few more countries have issued stamps featuring the LEGO-bricks. Such stamps are not related to Gutzon Borglum and Mt. Rushmore, but are shown here for the sake of completeness. Gibraltar 1996.

Set of five Christmas Stamps with Christmas symbols made up in LEGO-bricks. Christmas Apple. Father Christmas. Lighted Candle. In 1989 the Island of Man issued a set of four stamps dedicated to Children's Games. The stamps are printed in a block of four with two horizontal rows of stamps in a se-tenant design. The stamp in the lower row, far left, shows a boy and girl with various games and toys, and a house built of LEGO-bricks. The thee remaining stamps in the set are not related to LEGO. Isle of Man 1989. Children's Games. LEGO-bricks. Seen through my Danish eyes the impact that LEGO-bricks has had on children throughout the world in their general creativity, is quite impressive. Even if today LEGO is considered rather old-fashioned compared to modern "toys", such as computers and the possibilities they offer, LEGO is likely to stay on the market for many years to come. Gutzon Borglum - Marriott Library - The University of Utah Books Ainsworth. The Cowboy in Art. New York, NY: World Pub. Co., 1968. Archives of American Art.

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Periodicals Borglum, Gutzon | Article about Borglum, Gutzon by The Free Dictionary Borglum, Gutzon | Article about Borglum, Gutzon by The Free Dictionary Borglum, Gutzon Borglum, Gutzon (John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum) (gŭt`sən dĕ l`ə mät bôr`gləm), 1867–1941, American sculptor, b. Idaho; son of a Danish immigrant physician and rancher. He studied at the San Francisco Art Academy and in Paris at Julian's academy and the École des Beaux-Arts. His first commission after his return to New York in 1901 was the statue of Lincoln that stands in the rotunda of the Capitol, Washington, D.C. Other works of his earlier period include another figure of Lincoln (Newark), a statue of Henry Ward Beecher (Brooklyn), Mares of Diomedes (Metropolitan Mus.), and figures of the apostles created for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City. Borglum is most famous, however, for his monumental works.

He designed the first of these, a Confederate memorial on Stone Mt., Ga., and began carving it in 1916. The work was interrupted by World War I but was resumed in 1924. As the result of an acrimonious controversy with the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, he ceased working and destroyed his models. Moving to South Dakota, Borglum began work on the gigantic Mount Rushmore National Memorial Mount Rushmore National Memorial, 1,278 acres (518 hectares), SW S.Dak., in the Black Hills; est. 1925, dedicated 1927. There, carved on the face of the mountain and visible for 60 mi (97 km), are the enormous (60 ft/18.3 m high) heads of four U.S. ..... Click the link for more information. in 1927. One of the largest sculptural projects in existence, the memorial was also a great engineering feat. Borglum had nearly finished the 60-ft (18.3-m) heads of the four presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt) when he died.

Plans for an even more ambitious composition were abandoned and the work was finished (1941) by his son Lincoln. Borglum was a man of tremendous vitality and decided opinions that led him into frequent confrontations. His brother Solon Hannibal Borglum, 1868–1922, was also a sculptor, noted especially for his portrayal of horses, cattle, Native Americans, and cowboys. Bibliography See R. J. Casey and M. Borglum, Give the Man Room: the Story of Gutzon Borglum (1952); W. Price, Gutzon Borglum, Artist and Patriot (1961); A. M. Davies, Solon H. Borglum (1974); J. Taliaferro, Great White Fathers: The Story of the Obsessive Quest to Create Mount Rushmore (2002). Borglum, (John) Gutzon (de la Mothe) (1867–1941) sculptor; born near Bear Lake, Idaho Territory.

Child of Danish immigrants, he was raised throughout the West; after college he moved to California (1884) where he studied art and took up painting portraits. He met Jesse Benton Fremont, who sponsored his studies in Paris and Spain (1890–92). After working in California and London (England), he settled in New York City (1901). By then he had switched to sculpture; his Mares of Diomedes won a gold medal at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904 and was the first American sculpture acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was soon winning commissions, including The Twelve Apostles for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. Asked by the Daughters of the Confederacy to sculpt the head of Robert E. Lee on Stone Mountain, Georgia, he designed an ambitious ensemble portraying Confederate leaders and hundreds of soldiers; a disagreement led to his quitting in 1924 with only a few figures finished. (The project was revived in 1960.) He had already been asked by South Dakota to carve a "shrine of democracy" there and he chose Mt. Rushmore.

He began in 1927 and had finished the 60-foot head of George Washington by 1930, by which time the U.S. Congress had authorized funds. An opinionated man, he feuded with the National Parks Service over money and procedures, but no one questioned his patriotism or energy. He had practically finished the other three heads by his death (and his son, Lincoln Borglum, completed some details shortly thereafter). Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content . Link to this page:

Question: Where is US sculptor Gutzon Borglum’s largest and most famous work?
Answer: Mount Rushmore, South Dakota