
1924, Borglum Dismissed
Tensions between the business leaders of the Stone Mountain sculpture project had been increasing since the project began. Borglum was known to be a very large personality, and his desire for executive level control over his projects led to some bent noses among the other project stakeholders. In 1924, Borglum unveiled the head of Robert E. Lee, an act which the National Park Service described as moving soldiers present to tears.(U.S. National Park Service) However, his artistic talents were not enough to prevent the conflicts that led to his dismissal from the Stone Mountain project in 1924.
Outraged, Gutzon Borglum destroyed the master copy of the sculpture from which the mountain carving was projected, making it impossible for anyone else to finish the work that he had started in the style that he had started it. This led to a warrant being issued for his arrest which forced Borglum and his family to flee from Georgia. Later the head that he had completed had to be completely removed for the Stone Mountain sculpture known today.
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