PBA Galleries

Gelatin silver photograph. 35.5x42.5 cm (14x16¾"). Rise Studio imprint in lower right corner in negative.

The inscription reads: "With sincere appreciation to Senator Reed Smoot for his constant help. Sincerely, Gutzon Borglum, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Black Hills, South Dakota." The photograph shows the nearly finished head of George Washington, the partially demolished head of Thomas Jefferson to his right (dynamited because the underlying rock was found to be unstable), the beginning of the replacement Jefferson to his left, with hints of beginnings of Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Buildings rest on top. The photograph was given by Senator Smoot to Truman Young, who worked as a clerk in the Senator's office beginning in 1927. It has remained in the Young family until this time.