Mount Rushmore History

Mount Rushmore’s history is steeped in the personal story of the talented sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, and a nation’s dedication to celebrating liberty and democracy as symbolized by four US Presidents.

Gutzon Borglum’s Early Years

• March 25, 1867 – Gutzon Borglum is born in Idaho to Danish parents.
• Ages 1 – 24: Gutzon receives some formal art training at a private school in Kansas.
• Gutzon’s family moves to California; Gutzon works as an apprentice lithographer before opening his own studio.
• 1888: Gutzon's portrait of General John C Fremont earns him recognition. 
• c. 1889: Gutzon marries Elizabeth Putnam, but the marriage dissolves.

Borglum’s Development

• c. 1891: Gutzon studies art in Paris at Academie Julian, where he becomes friends with the French sculptor, Auguste Rodin.
• 1896: Gutzon relocates to England. Some of his pieces are displayed at Windsor Castle.
• 1901: Gutzon returns to the US.

Success

Gutzon continues to develop artistically, creating the following pieces:

• Mares of Diomedes
• An equestrian bronze of General Phil Sheridan, unveiled by Theodore Roosevelt
• A memorial to Pickett’s Charge on the Gettysburg Battlefield
• Wars of America Memorial
• Seated Lincoln

Gutzon is commissioned to create statues for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. A clergyman accuses Gutzon of failing to portray the angels in a masculine enough fashion and a debate concerning the gender of angels ensues. Gutzon makes the angels more “manly” in appearance.

1909: Gutzon marries Mary Montgomery Borglum.

1912: Borglum campaigns for Theodore Roosevelt’s re-election.

“American” Style/Stone Mountain

• Gutzon experiments with larger pieces, portraying a distinctly “American” style.
• He creates a large sculpture of the head of Abraham Lincoln. The bust is placed at the Capital Building and remains there today.
• Gutzon is approached about doing the head of Robert E. Lee at Stone Mountain, Georgia. Borglum proposes a larger carving, featuring Lee on horseback being followed by soldiers.
• 1923: Gutzon begins work on Stone Mountain, using chisels and jackhammers. A Belgian engineer teaches Borglum how to utilize dynamite in his sculpting process.
• 1924: The head of Lee is unveiled.
• A difference of opinion between Borglum and the project's businessmen results in Gutzon's dismissal. Angered, Gutzon destroys his models and flees Georgia after a warrant is issued for his arrest.

History of Mount Rushmore

• 1923: State Historian of South Dakota, Doane Robinson, hears of Borglum’s work on Stone Mountain and proposes the idea of a mountain sculpture in the Black Hills.
• 1924: Borglum visits South Dakota and agrees to the project.
• 1927: Gutzon begins sculpting and devotes the remainder of his life to carving Mount Rushmore.
• March 6, 1941: Gutzon Borglum passes away.
• After his father’s death, Gutzon’s son, Lincoln, completes the monument's final touches.

The history of Mt. Rushmore is intrinsically linked to one man's artistic vision and talent, and a nation's dedication to the preservation and celebration of democracy. Today, nearly 3 million people visit the site every year, to witness a masterpiece that functions, in Gutzon’s words, “to communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States with colossal statues of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.”