Construction of Mount Rushmore Construction of Mount Rushmore The construction of Mount Rushmore National Memorial took 14 years, from 1927 to 1941. Doane Robinson of the South Dakota Historical Society wanted a monument to be built in South Dakota in order to help the economy of the state by attracting tourism. In 1923, he proposed that this monument should be built from the granite cliffs in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Senator Peter Norbeck of South Dakota approved the proposal, and federal funding helped the project. Robinson asked architect and sculptor Gutzon Borglum to sculpt and design the monument. Borglum decided to use
Robert Garrison Robert Garrison Robert Ernest Garrison was an American sculptor (May 30, 1895 – 1943). He was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Son of Fred A. Garrison and Anna Timms. Garrison studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia and with Gutzon Borglum. He made his home in Denver, Colorado where he served on the faculty of the University of Denver and some of his work can be found. Garrison worked mainly in stone and bronze. In 1919 he moved to Denver and became a Director of the Denver Academy of Applied Art. During his tenure there he taught