Arm Studies

These anatomical sketches by sculptor Solon H. Borglum demonstrate the careful study of human musculature and gesture that informed fine art practice in the 1890s. The five studies show varied arm positions rendered in ink with cross-hatching to model form and volume. Such preparatory drawings were essential to academic training and to artists working across media—from sculpture to illustration. Borglum, a South Dakota sculptor known for monumental public works, used systematic anatomical study as foundation for his expressive figurative compositions.