Luigi Del Bianco (May 8, 1892 – January 20, 1969) was an Italian-American sculptor and the chief carver of Mount Rushmore.

 

Del Bianco immigrated to the United States at 18. When World War I began, he returned to Italy to serve his home country, then moved to Vermont in 1920. His brother-in-law introduced him to Mount Rushmore designer Gutzon Borglum, and Del Bianco began working in Borglum’s studio before later settling in Port Chester, New York.

 

In 1933, Borglum hired Del Bianco as chief stone carver on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Paid $1.50 an hour, Del Bianco was charged with carving the detail in the faces. He carved Abraham Lincoln's eyes and patched a dangerous crack in Thomas Jefferson's lip.

 

Borglum constantly praised Del Bianco for his great abilities as a classically trained stone carver: "He is worth any three men in America for this particular type of work." "He is the only intelligent, efficient stone carver on the work who understands the language of the sculptor." "We could double our progress if we had two like Del Bianco."

 

Before Mount Rushmore Del Bianco worked on the Stone Mountain memorial and the Wars of America memorial at Military Park in Newark, New Jersey With Borglum.

 

On September 16, 2017, the National Park Service unveiled a memorial plaque at Mount Rushmore. The plaque acknowledged Luigi Del Bianco's crucial role as the only chief carver on the work. In 1969 Luigi Del Bianco died of accelerated silicosis. He was 76.