Building the Statue of Liberty - 1875-1886
In the early 1870s, inspired by the abolition of slavery and the Union victory in the American Civil War, French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi seized upon an idea. He would build a monumental gift for the United States, a gesture of friendship from a country that had helped secure its independence.
When Bartholdi visited the United States to gather support for the project, he identified Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor as the ideal site. It was right at the mouth of a major port, and was federally owned “land common to all the states.”
The neoclassical statue was designed in the image of Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, raising a torch and bearing a tabula ansata, representing law. Bartholdi toyed with the idea of having the statue hold a broken chain, but feared such an explicit reference to slavery might be controversial. (The final statue does have a subtle chain at her feet.)
In 1875, the project was announced and fundraising began, led by French politician Édouard René de Laboulaye. Before the statue’s design had been finalized, Bartholdi built the head and torch-bearing right arm and put them on display at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and the Paris World’s Fair to drum up support for the project.
1876
The right arm and torch of the Statue of Liberty on display at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.
1881
An elevation showing the statue's iron framework, designed by Gustave Eiffel.
1883
A diagram of the statue's dimensions.
1878
The Statue of Liberty's head on display at the Paris World's Fair.
1878
An alternate view of the head on display at the Paris World's Fair.
1880
Workers build the statue inside Bartholdi's workshop in Paris.
1882
The workshop showing the carved arm of the statue. At the back (right) are smaller models of the arm and the head.
1880
Bartholdi (left) supervises the crafting of the statue.
1883
A view of the head outside the Parisian workshop as construction begins for the bequeathing ceremony. The assembled dignitaries are grouped around one of the statue's feet.
1883
The internal frame is assembled...
1883
...clad by the skirts...
1883
...and the upper body.
1884
The fully assembled statue towers over its workshop and the surrounding buildings.
July 4, 1884
The statue is formally unveiled to the United States ambassador to France before being shipped to New York.
1885
A cartoon from Puck magazine suggests a solution to the statue's funding difficulties.
1885
The feet of the statue arrive in New York.
1886
The statue is reassembled on Bedloe's Island. The narrow pedestal restricted the use of scaffolding, forcing workers to dangle from ropes.
In the early 1870s, inspired by the abolition of slavery and the Union victory in the American Civil War, French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi seized upon an idea. He would build a monumental gift for the United States, a gesture of friendship from a country that had helped secure its independence.
When Bartholdi visited the United States to gather support for the project, he identified Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor as the ideal site. It was right at the mouth of a major port, and was federally owned “land common to all the states.”
The neoclassical statue was designed in the image of Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, raising a torch and bearing a tabula ansata, representing law. Bartholdi toyed with the idea of having the statue hold a broken chain, but feared such an explicit reference to slavery might be controversial. (The final statue does have a subtle chain at her feet.)
In 1875, the project was announced and fundraising began, led by French politician Édouard René de Laboulaye. Before the statue’s design had been finalized, Bartholdi built the head and torch-bearing right arm and put them on display at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and the Paris World’s Fair to drum up support for the project.
1876
The right arm and torch of the Statue of Liberty on display at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.
1881
An elevation showing the statue's iron framework, designed by Gustave Eiffel.
1883
A diagram of the statue's dimensions.
1878
The Statue of Liberty's head on display at the Paris World's Fair.
1878
An alternate view of the head on display at the Paris World's Fair.
1880
Workers build the statue inside Bartholdi's workshop in Paris.
1882
The workshop showing the carved arm of the statue. At the back (right) are smaller models of the arm and the head.
1880
Bartholdi (left) supervises the crafting of the statue.
1883
A view of the head outside the Parisian workshop as construction begins for the bequeathing ceremony. The assembled dignitaries are grouped around one of the statue's feet.
1883
The internal frame is assembled...
1883
...clad by the skirts...
1883
...and the upper body.
1884
The fully assembled statue towers over its workshop and the surrounding buildings.
July 4, 1884
The statue is formally unveiled to the United States ambassador to France before being shipped to New York.
1885
A cartoon from Puck magazine suggests a solution to the statue's funding difficulties.
1885
The feet of the statue arrive in New York.
1886
The statue is reassembled on Bedloe's Island. The narrow pedestal restricted the use of scaffolding, forcing workers to dangle from ropes.
