Born in Ogden, Utah, he was the younger brother of Gutzon Borglum and uncle of Lincoln Borglum , the two men most responsible for the creation of the carvings at Mount Rushmore. The son of Mormon Danish immigrants who settled on the great plains, Solon Borglum spent his early years as a rancher in western Nebraska.

Though he later lived in Paris and New York and achieved a reputation as one of America's talented sculptors, it was his depiction of frontier life, and especially his experience with cowboys and native American peoples, on which his reputation was founded.

Borglum studied under Louis Rebisso in Cincinnati and in with Emmanuel Frémiet Paris.[1] He specialized in depicting people and scenes of the American West.

He moved to the Silvermine neighborhood of New Canaan, Connecticut, where he helped found the "Knockers Club" of artists. His brother, Gutzon, lived in nearby Stamford, Connecticut from 1910 to 1920.

Two of his works are located in Jersey City, NJ. His sculpture "Buffalo and Bears" is in Leonard Gordon Park in the City's Heights section and his "Soldiers and Sailors Victory Monument" stands in front of City Hall downtown.