in the 1920, sculptor Gutzon Borglum unconventional call is carved a Confederate memorial on Stone Mountain in Georgia. Robinson wanted his sculptures to stand at the gateway to the west, where the Black Hills rise from the plains as a prelude to the Rocky Mountain Geographic. Here, outcrops of granite to resist erosion to form the needles, a group of tall, thin peaks reminiscent of the towers of a Gothic cathedral.
Robinson thought the needles turned into a parade of indigenous leaders and explorers of America, which forms the border. Robinson own enthusiasm did not translate into public support. Many people were skeptical or hostile frankly.
"Man makes the statues," he proclaimed local conservationist Cora B. Johnson, "but God made the needles."
Undeterred, proponents monument called the master sculptor of Stone Mountain. At a time when many artists scorned traditional patriotism, Gutzon Borglum was released through the celebration of things American. As his style evolved, "American" came to mean "great."
"Our time will one day be called the" Age of Colossal '"Borglum complained," There is a monument in this country as big as a box of snuff. "
Born in Idaho in 1867, this son of a Danish Mormon studied art in Paris. Back home, he worked in the shadow of his brother artist Solon, even after several moderate Gutzon was famous work. Among them was a remodeled torch for the Statue of Liberty, saints and apostles for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, the Lincoln sitting in Newark, New Jersey and a large bust of Lincoln for the Capitol USA. In 1915 began the memorial at Stone Mountain, which provided expertise in carving granite large scale - and in the show.
Location
Borglum explored a lot better than the brittle needles: 5.725 foot of Mount Rushmore, named in 1885 for the New York lawyer Charles E. Rushmore. His broad wall of exposed granite to the southeast to receive direct sunlight for most of the day.
Borglum choice of subjects agreed to raise the memorial of a regional company to a national cause "in commemoration of the foundation, preservation and expansion of the continental United States."
Borglum planned four U.S. presidents beside an entablature with the inscription a brief history. On a wall behind the carved figures of the Hall of Records to preserve national documents and artifacts.
President Calvin Coolidge dedicated the memorial in 1927, after 14 years of work, only 6 1 / 2 years were spent in actual size. Money was the main problem in the years of the Great Depression. Gutzon Borglum was here that the self-assessment as "a man of war" was obtained. He personally lobbied state officials, congressmen, cabinet members and presidents.
"The work is purely a national monument," he insisted in a congressional hearing in 1938.
Pride in the country - and the fact that public works created jobs and goodwill - funneled $ 836,000 of federal money toward the total cost of nearly $ 1 million.
The Washington head was formally dedicated in 1930, followed by Jefferson in 1936, Lincoln in 1937 and Roosevelt in 1939. Borglum died in March 1941, the final dedication was not held until 50 years later. Son, Lincoln Borglum supervised the completion of the heads. Size arrested in October 1941 on the eve of our entry into World War II. Gutzon Borglum could have said that it was time to defend the principles of Mount Rushmore preserved in stone.
