Study for Equestrian Monument

Solon H. Borglum's ink sketch captures a mounted figure in profile, rendered with assured anatomical precision. The rider sits upright on a horse, posed as if for a formal commemorative work. Borglum, born in Ogden, Utah, became one of America's leading sculptors of monumental public works. This study demonstrates the preparatory drawing techniques common to large-scale sculptural commissions—establishing pose, proportion, and compositional balance before undertaking the finished bronze or stone. The sketch's economy of line and attention to musculature reflect classical sculptural training and the equestrian monument tradition that dominated civic monuments of the early twentieth century.