John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum (March 25, 1867 – March 6, 1941) was an American sculptor best known for his work on Mount Rushmore.
Adam Ruins His Vacation[]
To attract tourism in South Dakota, the state's historians hired Gutzon Borglum to build a sculpture as a national memorial. Originally, they wanted the sculpture to feature American West heroes, Gutzon, however, rejected that idea and believed that the sculpture should have broader appeal and chose the four presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Roosevelt, who was President of the United States during the construction, was chosen because Gutzon was friends with him. Gutzon was overly ambitious about the project. Originally, Gutzon was planned that the figures would be carved from head to waist and had also planned a massive panel in the shape of the Louisiana Purchase commemorating in eight-foot-tall, gilded letters the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Louisiana Purchase, and seven other territorial acquisitions from the Alaska purchase to the Panama Canal Zone. Borglum was so obsessed that the federal government threaten to cut his funding if he didn't stick to the original blueprint. Borglum died from an embolism in March 1941 and insufficient funding forced the carving to end. Seeing no reason to continue the project, his workers decided to quit project.