Solon H. Borglum, born Ogden, UT - Goats - n.d. - T-Shirt

A graphite pencil study of goats, with three poses drawn in light, open contours across a cream sheet.

Visual Elements & Composition

Cream dominates the design, with graphite grey marks making up the drawn lines. At the upper left, a goat stands in profile with its body extended and its head raised to the right, the curved horns and eye carefully indicated. Below and to the right, a second head appears in profile, with sweeping horns, a small beard and a narrow muzzle. At the lower centre, a third goat plants its forelegs, its horns curving back, with hooves drawn at the base. The poses are arranged loosely rather than in a grid, so the eye moves from one study to the next.

Meaning & Symbolism

The sheet records observation rather than a finished image. Repeated head studies and paired poses show the artist working out the stance and anatomy of a goat from several viewpoints. The focus is the animal's characteristic silhouette: the angled horns, the compact body and the set of the legs. Solon Borglum (1868-1922), born in Ogden, Utah, worked principally as a sculptor, and animal subjects formed a major part of his output. He was the younger brother of Gutzon Borglum. Drawings like these came before the modelling of a form in three dimensions, which is why the sketch reads as a study of how an animal holds its weight and moves.

On the Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee

Sketch work like this relies on line, and on a shirt the lines sit close to the body and move with it. The goats are drawn at a scale that reads from a few feet away, so the poses stay legible as you walk, and the open contours carry across the chest the way they do on the page.