Gutzon Borglum

Gutzon Borglum found his place in history when he traveled with his 12-year old son Lincoln to the Black Hills of South Dakota in search of a mountain to carve. Gutzon and Lincoln camped for two weeks in the foothills before LIncoln wrote a letter home to his mother telling her, “I think we found the mountain that Daddy is going to carve.” Such is just some of the behind-the-scenes narrative found in SPI’s recording.

As part of Story Preservation’s Preserving a Legacy Series, SPI met with and recorded Gutzon Borglum’s granddaughter, Robin Borglum Kennedy. Robin’s account of her grandfather’s life differs in ways that are significant from other accounts. Hers is more personal history, centering on the man, his family, his life, and his art as a whole.

The listener comes away from the recording understanding that only a man as brash and bold as Gutzon Borglum could have envisioned such a monumental work and that creating Mount Rushmore was, far more than most know, a family affair.

Photos are courtesy of Robin Borglum Kennedy.

Gutzon Borglum Sculptor

by Gutzon Borglum

Click on the links below for Lesson Plans, Project Ideas, and Additional Resources.

Gutzon Borglum - Create Your Own Mount Rushmore

Grade Level: Middle-High

Social Studies, Art, English Literacy

Books by Lincoln Borglum: Mount Rushmore: The Story Behind the SceneryBorglum’s Unfinished DreamMy Father’s Mountain

Books by Robin Borglum Kennedy: Gutzon Borglum: His Life and WorksMary’s Story: Mary Borglum’s story from the mountains of Anatolia to the mountains of South Dakota

Children’s Books: Little Miss History Travels to Mount Rushmore by Barbara Ann Mojica

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