Mt. Rushmore’s Head of Lincoln

In addition to Mt. Rushmore, one of Gutzin Borglum’s great works as a sculptor is the head of Lincoln in the Capitol at Washington. He cut it from a large, square block of stone in his studio. One day, when the face of Lincoln was just becoming recognizable out of the stone, a young girl was visiting the studio with her parents. She looked at the half-done face of Lincoln, her eyes registering wonder and astonishment. She stared at the piece for a moment then ran to the sculptor. “Is that Abraham Lincoln?” she asked. “Yes” replied Borglum. “Well,” said the little girl, “how in the world did you know he was inside there?” (Bits and Pieces, June 23, 1994, p. 23).