Model for Seated Statue of James Smithson

Gutzon Borglum, born Bear Lake, ID 1867-died Chicago, IL 1941 · 1904

In December 1903, Alexander Graham Bell, a regent of the Smithsonian Institution, asked Gutzon Borglum to submit plans for a memorial honoring the institution’s founder. Borglum carefully researched James Smithson’s life before designing a miniature version of the proposed large-scale work. Rather than represent the scientist in a formal pose, he decided to show Smithson seated comfortably as if in the midst of a casual conversation. Not until October of the following year did he present his model to Bell. Borglum’s plan for a finished sculpture to be placed in front of the Smithsonian was never realized and only the model remains as a record of the intended monument.