John Gutzon Borglum (1871-1941)

John Gutzon Borglum, noted Mount Rushmore sculptor, moved in 1874 from Idaho to Fremont at the age of seven. Educated in Fremont and Omaha, Borglum showed an early aptitude for sketching. He later attended St. Mary's College in Kansas. An Idaho native, Borglum returned to the West and established a studio in California.

Borglum's early painting "Staging in California" was declared a masterpiece during an 1890 art show in Omaha. Purchased by J. L. Brandeis, the painting was later presented to Joslyn Art Museum. George W. Lininger, an early merchant and art patron, recognized
young Borglum's talent and sent him to Europe, where he studied at the Academie Julien in Paris and the Ecole des Beaux Arts also in Paris. He was honored with membership in the Society of Beaux Arts and the Royal Society of British Artists.

Borglum's sculptures brought him nation-wide recognition. His first attempt at mountain carving in 1916 at Stone Mountain, Georgia ended when a misunderstanding caused the work to be terminated by the project's sponsors.

The Mount Rushmore carvings of Washington, Lincoln,, Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt, Borglum's greatest and best known work, were carved between 1927 and 194l, and were completed by his son, Lincoln Borglum. A mountain carving of the Indian Chief Crazy Horse was in the planning stages at the time of Borglum's death on March 6, 1941 in Chicago. He is buried in a crypt at the foot of Mount Rushmore.