Statue of Liberty: Constructing Liberty
Officially unveiled in 1886, the Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States.
Statue of Liberty (front view looking north) (1984) by Jet LoweOriginal Source: National Park Service, Heritage Documentation Programs
Statue of Liberty
For many Americans, the Statue represents the possibilities and traditions of the United States. To others, it is a universal symbol of the continuing quest for liberty. From the patriot to the refugee, the dissident to the disenfranchised, many who seek liberty continue to look to the Statue.
Édouard René de Laboulaye
French political thinker and abolitionist Édouard René Lefèbvre de Laboulaye first conceived the idea for a statue to honor liberty, affirm the historical French-American alliance, and celebrate the centennial of US independence. It was also intended, in part, to celebrate the abolition of slavery in the United States.
Sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi
Bartholdi spent years developing his design for the Statue. He combined the Roman goddess Libertas with a “sunburst” symbolizing reason and enlightenment, a tablet marked “July 4, 1776” in Roman numerals, broken chains at the Statue’s feet signifying emancipation of the enslaved, and a torch that gave meaning to the sculpture’s name: Liberty Enlightening the World.
“My only ambition has been to engrave my name at the feet of great men and in the service of grand ideas.” —Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi
From 1870 to 1875, Bartholdi worked on the Statue’s form. He developed his final design through small working models like this. The last step in Bartholdi’s design process was creating his modèle d’étude, or study model. Completed in 1875, this original four-foot model represents Bartholdi’s final design and was used as the template for the full-size Statue.
Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel (1832–1923)
Bartholdi’s hired Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, one of France’s most innovative engineers, to develop the Statue’s construction plan. Hailed as a bridge between art and engineering, the Statue was recognized as one of the greatest technical achievements of the 1800s.
Workmen constructing the Statue of Liberty, hammering copper, with left hand and head in background, at the Gaget, Gauthier & Co. workshop in Paris, 1881-1883 (1883) by Attributed to Pierre PetitOriginal Source: National Park Service, Statue of Liberty National Monument
Constructing the Statue of Liberty
Over 60 craftsmen at the renowned metalworking firm Gaget, Gauthier & Compagnie oversaw the Statue’s creation. Bartholdi supervised all aspects of construction, which involved traditional techniques and new technologies.
Construction Workers (ca. 1884 – 1886)Original Source: National Park Service, Statue of Liberty National Monument
Construction Workers
Many of the construction workers who assembled the Statue were new immigrants.
New York City - the grand demonstration on "Liberty Day," October 28th - the military and civic procession passing down lower Broadway, with the naval pageant in the distance (November 6, 1886) by Frank Leslie’s Illustrated NewspaperOriginal Source: National Park Service, Statue of Liberty National Monument
New York City - the grand demonstration on "Liberty Day"
The Statue of Liberty was unveiled on October 28, 1886. Over one million people attended ceremonies and parades in New York City throughout the day. Suffragists protesting during the opening ceremony objected to the use of a female figure to liberty when American women did not have the right to vote. African American journalists expressed their ambivalence about the Statue in the wake of Reconstruction.
View from Torch (2019) by National Park Service, Heritage Documentation ProgramsOriginal Source: National Park Service, Heritage Documentation Programs
View from Torch
Click here to view an interactive tour of the Statue of Liberty
