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

A single unbroken line traces a frontal female nude, arms raised until the hands meet above her head, set against an empty sheet of cream paper.

Visual Elements & Composition

The figure is drawn in fine grey ink with no shading, tone or wash, so the line carries the entire image. A few interior strokes mark the breasts, ribs, navel and the join of the legs, while long wavy hair falls around the lowered head and shoulders. The body narrows at the waist, widens slightly at the hips and fades toward the feet at the lower edge of the sheet. Bare cream paper surrounds the figure on every side, and that open ground makes up most of the composition.

Meaning & Symbolism

The raised arms and bowed head give the pose a sense of stretch or surrender, and the figure's isolation on the blank page makes it feel self-contained. The drawing is built on economy: the subject is reduced to the contour that defines it, so attention settles on the rhythm of the body and the flow of one continuous line. It comes from Solon Hannibal Borglum (1868-1922), a sculptor trained in Paris who was best known for animal and western subjects. Outline studies like this one show his figure work reduced to essential contour, the kind of preparatory thinking where the silhouette and edge of a form mattered as much as the finished piece.

On the Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee

A tee is worn close to the body and seen from the front, so the figure's outline sits across the chest as a single, readable gesture. The open cream ground of the drawing becomes the shirt's own negative space, letting the contour stand alone the way it does on the original sheet.