Solon H. Borglum, born Ogden, UT - Framework of the Flower - n.d. - T-Shirt

This design pairs two pencil studies of a single six-petalled flower, one labelled Front and one labelled Back, drawn with clean contours on cream paper.

Visual Elements & Composition

The drawings sit side by side in ivory and graphite grey, with no colour beyond the paper and the pencil line. Each flower radiates from a central point in a star-like arrangement of pointed petals, and fine interior veins run along every petal. The back view is compact, with a closed centre and one petal rising to a tip at the top. The front view is fuller, with a ring of tight curled forms where the petals meet and a single petal projecting downward. The two views are equal in weight, so neither reads as a background for the other.

Meaning & Symbolism

The paired views present the flower as a three-dimensional object to be read from both sides. That reading points to a design built for relief or applied ornament, where a stylised bloom could be repeated and set into a framework. Solon Borglum (1868-1922), born in Ogden, Utah, worked mainly as a sculptor and was the younger brother of Gutzon Borglum. This study belongs to the decorative and architectural side of his practice, where natural motifs were simplified into ornament for buildings and monuments. The original drawing is held in the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection.

Wearing the Study Front and Back

A tee is seen from two sides every time it is worn, so a design with a front and a back view suits the garment. The front study sits where the eye lands first, and the back study rewards a turn. The precise pencil veining and the star-shaped structure stay legible at close range, so the detail of the drawing carries across the chest and back of the shirt.