Solon H. Borglum, born Ogden, UT - Branch and Nude Study - n.d. - T-Shirt

This pencil sheet pairs two standing figures seen from behind with a set of branches, buds and arching stems, all drawn in fine, even lines on tan paper.

Visual Elements & Composition

Tan paper fills most of the sheet, with graphite grey lines doing all the work. Two nude figures stand with their arms raised, one at the left edge and one higher near the centre. A long stem arches across the upper part of the page and ends in flower-like buds at each end. Below, a curved branch carries leaves and buds across the lower centre, and a row of upright shoots with closed buds rises on the right. Shading stays light and sits mostly on the figures and stems, so the drawing reads through line rather than tone.

Meaning & Symbolism

Borglum set the human body beside natural growth as parallel subjects. The raised arms and the curving stems share a similar rhythm, so the sheet works as a study of how forms rise, bend and open. Solon Borglum (1868-1922) was born in Ogden, Utah, trained in Paris and was the brother of the sculptor Gutzon Borglum. He is best known for bronze sculptures of animals and frontier subjects, and drawings like this one, made from life and from nature, show the observational range behind that work. The sheet dates to around 1900 and is held in the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection.

Find the Rhythm on Your Chest

Because the composition is open and flat, the figures, stems and buds read clearly as one image, the way the original sheet was meant to be seen. The rising arms and arching branch lines carry across the shirt, so the drawing's sense of growth and gesture stays visible from a distance. Choose this tee if you want Borglum's observational line work in an everyday wardrobe piece.