Lincoln Borglum Lincoln Borglum James Lincoln de la Mothe Borglum (April 9, 1912 – January 27, 1986) was an American sculptor, photographer, author and engineer; he was best known for overseeing the completion of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial after the death in 1941 of the project's leader, his father, Gutzon Borglum. One of his best-known works, a bust of his father, is on display outside the "Lincoln Borglum Visitors Center" at Mount Rushmore. Named after his father's favorite president, Abraham Lincoln, and called by his middle name, Lincoln Borglum was the first child of Gutzon Borglum and his second wife, Mary
Gutzon Borglum our own," he looked to create art that was "American, drawn from American sources, memorializing American achievement," according to a 1908 interview article. Borglum was highly suited to the competitive environment surrounding the contracts for public buildings and monuments, and his public sculpture is sited all around the United States. In 1908, Borglum won a competition for a statue of the Civil War General Philip Sheridan to be placed in Sheridan Circle in Washington, D.C. A second version of "General Philip Sheridan" was erected in Chicago, Illinois, in 1923. Winning this competition was a personal triumph for him because he