Hidden Histories, Historical Marker Resource
The Gutzon-Borglum House
This Hidden History was created by SCAD student Julia Hardenburger as part of her SCAD art history department coursework, with guidance from art history professor Holly Goldstein, Ph.D., in 2019.
The Gutzon-Borglum House historical marker was dedicated in 1955. View the Gutzon-Borglum House historical marker listing.
Gallery
1. Historical Marker dedicated to sculptor Gutzon Borglum, 2019, Courtesy of Julia Hardenburger.
2. View of Gutzon Borglum’s Home in Avondale Estates, 2019, Courtesy of Julia Hardenburger.
3. Beals, Jessie Tarbox, Gutzon Borglum standing in his studio, looking at a sculpture in progress. He wears a smock over a dress coat, circa 1907, Courtesy of The Schlesinger History of Women in America Collection.
4. Gutzon Borglum, Auguste Rodin, 1918, Courtesy of The Lotus Magazine, jstor database.
5. Gutzon Borglum, The Mares of Diomedes, 1904, Courtesy of ART on FILE.
6. Gutzon Borglum letter to the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (New York, N.Y.), Gutzon, Borglum, 1913 Feb. 1. Walt Kuhn, Kuhn family papers, and Armory Show records, 1859-1984, bulk 1900-1949. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
7. “Mrs. Plane Leading Movement for Monument to Confederacy Which Will Be World Wonder.” The Constitution Atlanta, GA. Sunday, September 26, 1915. Accessed May 17, 2019. https://www.newspapers.com/image/26889345/?terms=stone%2Bmountain
8. Unknown Artist, Confederate Memorial Being Carved on Stone Mountain 16 Miles of Atlanta, circa 1915, Courtesy of Georgia Historical Society.
9. View of pond underneath carving on Stone Mountain taken from skylift, 2019, Courtesy of Julia Hardenburger.
10. Gutzon Borglum, Commemorative Medal, circa 1924, Courtesy of Georgia Historical Society.
11. Unknown Artist, Governor Trinkle of Virginia and Other Notables Having Dinner on the Shoulder of General Lee, circa 1924, Courtesy of Georgia Historical Society.
12. “Militant Memorial Sculptor Uncaught.” The Hutchinson News. February 27, 1925. Accessed May 17, 2019. https://www.newspapers.com/image/8575627/terms=militant%2Bsculptor%2BFebruary%2B27%2Batlanta
13. Detail of Stone Mountain Confederate Monument taken from skylift, 2019, Courtesy of Julia Hardenburger.
14. Ground level view of Stone Mountain Carving, 2019, Courtesy of Julia Hardenburger.
15. H.N. Burroughs, A New Map of Georgia with its Roads and Distances, 1846, Courtesy of SCAD Museum of Art Archives.
16. “President Coolidge in the headdress he received when made Chief Leading Eagle by the Oglala Sioux.” The Wasatch Wave. August 19, 1927. Accessed May 18, 2019. https://www.newspapers.com/image/544809295/?terms=mount%2Brushmore%2Bdedication%2Boctober
17. John Gutzon Borglum, Mount Rushmore; overview with faces, 1941, Courtesy of ART on FILE.
18. Student Julia Hardenburger on top of Stone Mountain, 2019, Courtesy of Julia Hardenburger.
19. Collaborative historical collage created with help from 5th graders at the Susie King Taylor Elementary School, 2019, Courtesy of Holly Goldstein.
20-25. Gutzon Borglum: The American Tradition, 2019, Courtesy of Julia Hardenburger.
As a sculptor myself, I was drawn naturally to learn more about Borglum and his artistic endeavors. But what I ended up being completely fascinated with through my research is just how American artists of the 20th century navigated political and social issues in order to create iconic art. In Borglum’s case, this was his time to influence and change the history of art and the branding of what is truly ‘American.’ I seem to find that in the lexicon of art history we put specific landmark artists on a pedestal to highlight how they specifically changed the world of art. However, we don’t often think of them alongside other artists who are less notable and have created next to them. It is of course, impossible, to account for and teach all these persons and dissect their roles individually. I hope to continue research that finds artists who have complicated histories and share their story in a holistic and inspiring way.
Boime, Albert. “Patriarchy Fixed in Stone: Gutzon Borglum's "Mount Rushmore” American Art 5, 67.1/2 (1991): 143-67. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3109035.
Borglum, Gutzon. “Auguste Rodin: A Neglected Genius.” The Lotus Magazine 9, no. 4 (1918): 151-55. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20543986.
_____. “Imitation the Curse of American Art.” Brush and Pencil 19, no. 2 (1907): 50-62. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25619680.
Father Finn, quoted in William B. Faherty, S.J. Tom Playfair’s Creator at Tom Playfair’s School, May 1943 (Vol. 12, No. 2), p. 190-195. Digitized with permission of Kansas Historical Society.
Fite, Gilbert C. “Gutzon Borglum Mercurial Master of Colossal Art.” Montana: The Magazine of Western History 25, no. 2 (1975): 2-19. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4517975.
“Ku Klux Klan Seen in Georgia.” Natchez News Democrat. November 30, 1915. Accessed May 17, 2019. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21364332/kkk_stone_mountain/.
Martin-Hart, Terry. Avondale Estates. Charleston: Arcadia, 2000.
“Militant Memorial Sculptor Uncaught.” The Hutchinson News. February 27, 1925. Accessed May 17, 2019. https://www.newspapers.com/image/8575627/terms=militant%2Bsculptor%2BFebruary%2B27%2Batlanta.
Rumble, Walker. “Gutzon Borglum: Mount Rushmore and the American Tradition.” The Pacific Northwest Quarterly 59, no. 3 (1968): 121-27. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40488512.
“Sculptor Gutzon Borglum.” National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/upload/sculptor%20gutzon%20borglum%20a.pdf.