Solon H. Borglum, born Ogden, UT - Nude Studies - 1895 - T-Shirt

A sheet of four nude figure studies, drawn from the torso down, with raised arms cropped by the top edge of the paper.

Visual Elements & Composition

The cream paper dominates the sheet, with charcoal-grey pen hatching doing most of the work. The two figures at left are built up with dense, parallel hatching that models the flank, hip and thigh. The two at right are looser, drawn in thin contour lines with only a few touches of salmon pink and pale blue pencil across the shoulder, upper arm and chest. Small pencil marks and loose outlines show the adjustments made along the way, and the irregular edges and worn creases make the sheet read as a working page rather than a finished composition.

Meaning & Symbolism

The same pose is tried four times, each version studying the muscular mass of the back and side or the turn of the raised arm. Repeating one gesture shows a focus on how a single movement shapes the whole torso. Solon Hannibal Borglum (1868-1922), born in Ogden, Utah, trained in Paris and became known for sculpture of animals and western subjects. This sheet, dated 1895, comes from his early study of the figure, when drawing from life formed the foundation for his later three-dimensional work, where volume had to be built without color.

On the Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee

The drawing is arranged across a wide, horizontal field, and a tee gives it the same kind of open surface, with the figures placed across the chest and the raised arms rising toward the shoulder. Viewed up close, the hatching resolves into the details of the study, so the shirt rewards a close look as much as a glance across the room.