This awesome
art print features the Mount Rushmore National
Memorial, which is located near Keystone, South
Dakota. Mount Rushmore memorializes the birth,
growth, preservation, and development of the United
States of America.
Mount Rushmore was originally named for Charles E.
Rushmore, a New York lawyer investigating mining
claims in the Black Hills in 1885. Between 1927 and
October 31, 1941, sculptor Gutzon Borglum and 400
workers sculpted the colossal 60 foot busts of
Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln to represent
the first 150 years of American history.
Mount Rushmore
was chosen as the location for the memorial due to
its height (5700' above sea level), the soft grainy
consistency of the granite, and the fact that it
catches the sun for a large part of the day. The
presidents were selected on the basis of what each
symbolized. George Washington represents the
struggle for independence, Thomas Jefferson the idea
of government by the people, Abraham Lincoln for his
ideas on equality and the permanent union of the
states, and Theodore Roosevelt for the 20th century
role of the United States in world affairs.
Borglum's
original design was for a sculpture of the four
presidents to their waists, but time and money only
provided for their heads. The head of Washington was
completed first, followed by Jefferson and Lincoln.
Roosevelt's head was unfinished when Borglum died in
1941. The memorial was finished later that year by
Borglum's son, Lincoln.
