Solon H. Borglum, born Ogden, UT - Man and Horse - n.d. - T-Shirt

This graphite pencil study shows a standing man beside a horse, with a seated figure and a foreshortened horse sketched on the same cream sheet by American sculptor Solon Borglum.

Visual Elements & Composition

Cream paper fills most of the frame, and grey graphite lines carry all the weight. At left, a standing man stands beside a horse with one arm extended forward, the animal's body and legs indicated in loose, quick contours. At upper right, a smaller figure bends over a low object rendered in only a few strokes. In the lower right, a massive horse is foreshortened and partly cropped by the sheet's edge, its muscle and motion built up through hatched lines. The three sketches sit apart on the page, each left open rather than resolved.

Meaning & Symbolism

Man and horse was a subject that held Borglum's attention, and the sheet shows why. The drawing centres on the relationship between rider and mount, and on the tension between control and wild energy. Repeated sketches of the figures chase balance, weight and the shift of a body in motion. Borglum (1868–1922) was born in Ogden, Utah, and trained in Paris, where he absorbed the academic tradition of anatomical study. He became known as a sculptor of animals and western subjects, including the bronze Bronco Buster. Studies like this one were preparatory work for those larger pieces, recording the careful observation behind them.

On the Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee

A working study rewards a second look, and a tee suits that. Up close, the hatching and quick contours of the horse become visible. From across the room, the standing man and horse read as a single movement. Wearing a sketch like this puts the observation of a sculptor's working notes out into everyday life, where the drawing's restless, unfinished energy becomes part of how the shirt looks as you move through the day.