Torso, Study for Equestrian Monument

Solon H. Borglum's charcoal study depicts a muscular male torso rendered in bold, gestural lines against a burgundy ground. The drawing emphasizes anatomical structure through rapid hatching and strong contours, capturing the sculptural form Borglum developed for monumental commissions. Working in the early 1900s, Borglum refined such studies before translating them into bronze and marble equestrian sculptures. This preparatory work reveals his process: from gestural sketch to finished public monument. Borglum, born in Ogden, Utah, became known for large-scale commemorative sculptures that shaped American civic landscapes in the early twentieth century.