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

A pen and ink street scene by Solon Borglum shows two harnessed horses drawing a carriage through a town, with a church-like building rising behind them.

Visual Elements & Composition

The sketch is built around two horses in harness at the centre of a cream sheet, their heads turned toward the viewer's left. A spoked wheel and folding carriage top cut in from the right edge, while a row of low buildings, topped by a tower and a gabled facade with a small cupola, fills the background. Utility poles and strung wires cross the upper half. Ink black lines carry nearly all of the drawing, with soft grey shading adding depth. The words Los Angeles are penciled in the lower right corner.

Meaning & Symbolism

The drawing captures an ordinary working street, where horse-drawn traffic and the buildings of a settled town share the same space. Rather than recording a single event, it shows daily life at a moment when horses still moved goods and people through the city, and the wires overhead mark the arrival of new infrastructure. Solon Borglum (1868–1922) was an American sculptor and painter best known for animal sculpture and public monuments. Sketches like this one reflect the observational practice behind his lifelong study of horses and animal movement.

On the Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee

Pen and ink work rewards a closer look, and a tee keeps the drawing at chest height where its linework can be read up close. The horses sit at the centre of the shirt, so the eye lands on them first, with the carriage and street rising around them as you move.