--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art in America should be American, drawn…" description: "\"Art in America should be American, drawn from American sources, memorializing American achievement.\" — Gutzon Borglum" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/gutzon-borglum-14301_achievement_art-in-america-should-be-american-drawn_549412.jpg" --- # Art in America should be American, drawn from American… ![“Art in America should be American, drawn from American sources, memorializing American achievement.” quote by Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/gutzon-borglum-14301_achievement_art-in-america-should-be-american-drawn_549412.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/gutzon-borglum-14301_achievement_art-in-america-should-be-american-drawn_549412.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/gutzon-borglum-14301_achievement_art-in-america-should-be-american-drawn_549412.jpg) > “Art in America should be American, drawn from American sources, memorializing American achievement.” [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. American art should reflect American sources and achievements. **In simple terms:** Art must be rooted in its culture. Key Takeaway Create works that celebrate national identity. Themes nationalism heritage artistic purpose Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - museum curation - public sculpture - education curricula Key Concepts Cultural representation public monuments Questions to Reflect On - How can art honor heritage while embracing diversity? - What defines “American” in art today? A Different Perspective Exclusivity may limit diverse voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [I've always been drawn to the American style in the late '50s and '60s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-browne/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-the-american-style-in-the-late-50s-and-60s/) [Thom Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-browne/) > [If quantitatively the American achievement is impressive, qualitatively it is somewhat less satisfying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-babbitt/if-quantitatively-the-american-achievement-is-impressive/) [Irving Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-babbitt/) > [I was brought up on the romance of American achievement. No matter where you start, if you work hard and if you think positively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/i-was-brought-up-on-the-romance-of-american-achievement-no-matter/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [We have to start processing what we're really made of in America. American character is not dead. American integrity and honesty are not dead.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/we-have-to-start-processing-what-we-re-really-made-of-in-america/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [God bless America. I am American. I'm very patriotic. I love this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cejudo/god-bless-america-i-am-american-i-m-very-patriotic-i-love-this-country/) [Henry Cejudo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cejudo/) > [The spirit that America has, the American industry creativity it has where anything is possible. Three idealistic Australians bringing in new ideas and being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-worthington/the-spirit-that-america-has-the-american-industry-creativity-it-has/) [Sam Worthington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-worthington/) > [In the homes of America are born the children of America; and from them go out into American life, American men and women. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/in-the-homes-of-america-are-born-the-children-of-america-and-from/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [Polls are a snapshot in time and America - the American people - are whole people. They lead whole lives and they need us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laphonza-butler/polls-are-a-snapshot-in-time-and-america-the-american-people-are/) [Laphonza Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laphonza-butler/) > [We want products made in America, made by American hands. You probably saw the Keystone pipeline I approved recently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-want-products-made-in-america-made-by-american-hands-you-probably/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I think the greatest thing about America is the American Dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyclef-jean/i-think-the-greatest-thing-about-america-is-the-american-dream/) [Wyclef Jean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyclef-jean/) > [Art in America has always been regarded as a luxury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hallie-flanagan/art-in-america-has-always-been-regarded-as-a-luxury/) [Hallie Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hallie-flanagan/) > [I do not mix up Bush's America with the American people. The American people are our friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segolene-royal/i-do-not-mix-up-bush-s-america-with-the-american-people-the-american/) [Segolene Royal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/segolene-royal/) > [But, you see, the theatre is not always art in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beatrice-wood/but-you-see-the-theatre-is-not-always-art-in-america/) [Beatrice Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beatrice-wood/) > [I really love stand-up. I'm more than happy to do it for nothing. I've come to America to do it for nothing. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oliver/i-really-love-stand-up-i-m-more-than-happy-to-do-it-for-nothing-i-ve/) [John Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oliver/) > [I can always tell when Indian people are born in America. They have the most American accent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-soni/i-can-always-tell-when-indian-people-are-born-in-america-they-have/) [Karan Soni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-soni/) ## More by Gutzon Borglum > [Each succeeding civilization forgets its predecessor. Civilizations are ghouls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/each-succeeding-civilization-forgets-its-predecessor-civilizations/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [Ten thousand years from now our civilization will have passed without leaving a trace. A new race of people will inhabit the earth. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/ten-thousand-years-from-now-our-civilization-will-have-passed-without/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [Motherhood is heroism. It is God-given, and yet men treat women as though of similar common clay, when in fact they are but lower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/motherhood-is-heroism-it-is-god-given-and-yet-men-treat-women-as/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [Beauty is like a soul that hovers over the surface of form. Its presence is unmistakable in art or in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/beauty-is-like-a-soul-that-hovers-over-the-surface-of-form-its/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [Out of the west came Lincoln, and all that he had he gave to the preservation of the Union that had been bought so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/out-of-the-west-came-lincoln-and-all-that-he-had-he-gave-to-the/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [I am ready to rot in jail for the rest of my life rather than admit that my small-minded enemies are right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/i-am-ready-to-rot-in-jail-for-the-rest-of-my-life-rather-than-admit/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [I am ready to rot in jail that art may live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/i-am-ready-to-rot-in-jail-that-art-may-live/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [Nothing in life is without cause and effect. Nothing is merely a shell. Everything has some motive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/nothing-in-life-is-without-cause-and-effect-nothing-is-merely-a-shell/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [You may go from the Battery to Harlem, and in our monuments and statues of public men you will see the slavish adherence to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/you-may-go-from-the-battery-to-harlem-and-in-our-monuments-and/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [A monument's dimensions should be determined by the importance to civilization of the events commemorated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/a-monument-s-dimensions-should-be-determined-by-the-importance-to/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [The purpose of the memorial is to communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States with colossal statues of Washington, Jefferson,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/the-purpose-of-the-memorial-is-to-communicate-the-founding-expansion/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [I believe and find in my study of art that the real artist is nine-tenths of the time a craftsman, and it is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/i-believe-and-find-in-my-study-of-art-that-the-real-artist-is-nine/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [I have labored to make the record of the great men of my time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/i-have-labored-to-make-the-record-of-the-great-men-of-my-time/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [You have here In New York one of the greatest and most picturesque and artistic structures in the world. I mean the Brooklyn Bridge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/you-have-here-in-new-york-one-of-the-greatest-and-most-picturesque/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [That is how America gets her art: Contracting firms get the contract and the honor. Starving artists do the work. The government pays for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/that-is-how-america-gets-her-art-contracting-firms-get-the-contract/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) [Explore all 47 Gutzon Borglum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) ## More Achievement quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/) Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It's tragic what America has become because there is a great segment of society that now resents luxury and success and achievement by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-leach/it-s-tragic-what-america-has-become-because-there-is-a-great-segment/) [Robin Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-leach/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) Chaz Brenchley > [The main substantive achievement of neoliberalism has been to redistribute rather than to generate wealth and income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/the-main-substantive-achievement-of-neoliberalism-has-been-to/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [Every profession has an ideology and a drive for power that goes far beyond its achievements and it is the task of democracy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/every-profession-has-an-ideology-and-a-drive-for-power-that-goes-far/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [“If you find a way where there seems to be no way, that’s what we call miracle, not personal achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/if-you-find-a-way-where-there-seems-to-be-no-way-that-s-what-we-call/) [Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) Nicholas Roerich > [Every scene is a challenge. There are technical challenges, but often it's the simplest challenge where you feel a sense of achievement when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-deakins/every-scene-is-a-challenge-there-are-technical-challenges-but-often/) [Roger Deakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-deakins/) [Browse all 3,867 Achievement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Art in America should be American, drawn from American sources, memorializing American achievement.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gutzon Borglum" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/art-in-america-should-be-american-drawn-from-american-sources/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Achievement" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/art-in-america-should-be-american-drawn-from-american-sources/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/gutzon-borglum-14301_achievement_art-in-america-should-be-american-drawn_549412.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/gutzon-borglum-14301_achievement_art-in-america-should-be-american-drawn_549412.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/gutzon-borglum-14301_achievement_art-in-america-should-be-american-drawn_549412.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art in America should be American, drawn from American sources, memorializing American achievement.” — Gutzon Borglum", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gutzon Borglum", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art in America should be American,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/art-in-america-should-be-american-drawn-from-american-sources/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/art-in-america-should-be-american-drawn-from-american-sources/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```