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On the Border of the White Man's Land

Founder Cast by Roman Bronze Works
1899; cast 1906–07
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774
In 1899 Borglum spent three months among the Crow Creek Sioux in South Dakota, where he began to model his first Indigenous subject. In ensuing years, he offered contradictory narratives about this prone man grasping a rifle shielded by his horse for a camouflaged view of his foe. One explanation was that it represented Black Eagle, a scout for General George A. Custer, who was sent to report on unvanquished Native Americans. Another was that the unnamed figure was spying on white settlers or a passing train.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: On the Border of the White Man's Land
  • Artist: Solon Hannibal Borglum (American, Ogden, Utah 1868–1922 Stamford, Connecticut)
  • Founder: Cast by Roman Bronze Works
  • Date: 1899; cast 1906–07
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: 18 1/2 x 27 x 10 1/4 in. (47 x 68.6 x 26 cm)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1907
  • Object Number: 07.104
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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