Made in Paris by the French sculptor Bartholdi, in collaboration with Gustave Eiffel (who was responsible for the steel framework), this towering monument to liberty was a gift from France on the centenary of American independence in 1886. Standing at the entrance to New York Harbour, it has welcomed millions of immigrants to the United States ever since.
Its design and construction were recognized at the time as one of the greatest technical achievements of the 19th century, and, when finally dedicated a decade later, it was hailed as a bridge between art and engineering.
This colossal statue is a masterpiece of the human spirit. She endures as a highly potent symbol of ideals such as liberty, peace, human rights, abolition of slavery, democracy and opportunity.
Workmen constructing the Statue of Liberty in Bartholdi’s Parisian warehouse workshop; first model; left hand; and quarter-size head–Winter 1882. Photo from the Library of Congress.
In this photo released by Agence Papyrus the Statue of Liberty designed by French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi towers over Paris rooftops in 1884.
The Statue of Liberty with the scaffolding erected by the Works Progress Administration to furnish a footing for the coppersmiths who are about to put a flashing or apron around the bottom of the statue to keep out the storm water which for years has been seeping down through the masonry of the pedestal in New York City, 1930. (AP Photo)
