Born in Boston, Korczak Ziolkowski was a completely self-taught American original of Polish descent. Early in his career, he moved to West Hartford to establish his studio and begin life as a professional artist. He sold commissioned sculpture throughout New England, Boston, and New York. In 1932, he gave West Hartford the 13 1/2-foot Noah Webster statue, which took him two years to carve. In 1939, he assisted Gutzon Borglum in carving the Mt. Rushmore Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota. He later carved the Crazy Horse Memorial, a large sculptural depiction of the famous and heroic Sioux warrior of South Dakota, at 563 feet high and 641 feet long, making it one of the largest statues on Earth.