The statue of liberty sculpture in New York Harbor is so familiar that most visitors no longer see it as a sculpture. Taking it apart, piece by piece, shows how an artist‘s vision and an engineer’s frame made it work. Marking the 140th anniversary of the statue’s dedication in New York Harbor, New York Times critic at large Jason Farago examined the monument this way.
An artist’s idea takes shape
The idea began with a French lawyer and writer. In 1865, Édouard René de Laboulaye called for France to give the United States a monumental gift. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, a sculptor, took up the concept and developed it with him.
In 1871, while visiting the United States, Bartholdi pitched a design called “Liberty Enlightening the World.” It showed a woman in a crown meant to represent light. She held a tablet inscribed with the date of American independence, and broken shackles lay at her feet. Funding then took several years to raise before the project moved forward.
Bartholdi set the statue aside briefly to work on the Lion of Belfort. He returned to the project in 1880 and brought in other specialists for individual parts. One of them was Gustave Eiffel, who was an engineer by training and ran a company that built metal structures.
Eiffel’s engineering reach extended well beyond the statue, and his tower still shapes Paris’s skyline today. Parisian Fitness Club Opposite the Eiffel Tower shows how bold colour and curved geometry play against that famous backdrop.
The statue of liberty sculpture: copper skin over a steel frame
The statue of liberty sculpture has a massive steel frame, which Eiffel helped engineer. It stands on an island at the entrance to New York Harbor.
The Eiffel Tower‘s official website credits Eiffel with the statue’s internal framework, which lets the figure stand upright. The statue was completed in 1884. About five years later, Eiffel’s name would become linked with an even more famous structure, the Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 World’s Fair.
Shipping, assembly and dedication
The statue was not built on site. Bartholdi’s copper figure reached New York Harbor in 214 crates aboard a ship. Farago reports that the shipment arrived in June 1885, and the pieces were then assembled.
Dedication came later, on October 28, 1886. Americans had finished paying for the pedestal before the ceremony could take place. The pedestal was designed by the American architect Richard Morris Hunt, according to UNESCO.
What the statue represents
The statue holds a tablet bearing the date of American independence. The broken shackles at her feet are another central symbol, according to UNESCO. UNESCO describes the monument as a tribute to the historical alliance between France and the United States, and says its financing by international subscription was itself significant.
The bartholdi sculpture’s design had broken shackles at her feet to symbolize freedom. It also notes that this reading leaves out the millions of enslaved Africans brought to the country in the decades before and after the Revolution.
The beacon of freedom greeted millions of people as their boats pulled into New York Harbor on their way to Ellis Island. Emma Lazarus’s poem, inscribed on the base, includes the lines “Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” and ends with “I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Caring for the monument today
The federal government owns the statue of liberty sculpture, and the National Park Service administers it.
UNESCO identifies pollution, severe weather and large numbers of visitors as the main threats to the monument. The Park Service’s museum collection holds about 390,000 artifacts and more than 1 million archival records, and the Bob Hope Memorial Library is open for research visits by appointment.
Copper’s slow weathering and its need for upkeep matter for any monument exposed to harsh conditions. Brisbane’s Copper-Coloured Energy-Efficient Facade shows how the metal can be used on a modern tower.
The statue of liberty sculpture was built as a partnership between an artist who wanted a symbol and an engineer who made it stand. Its copper skin, steel frame and pedestal each took on a separate task. Together they gave the country a figure that people still read as a promise of freedom.
Source: laughingsquid.com
Frequently asked questions
Who designed the Statue of Liberty and who engineered its steel frame?
Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, a sculptor, designed the statue, and he brought in other specialists for individual parts. Gustave Eiffel, an engineer who ran a company that built metal structures, helped engineer the steel framework that lets the figure stand upright.
When was the Statue of Liberty completed and dedicated in New York Harbor?
The statue was completed in 1884, and its copper pieces arrived in New York Harbor in 214 crates in June 1885. The dedication ceremony took place on October 28, 1886, after Americans had finished paying for the pedestal.
What do the tablet and broken shackles on the Statue of Liberty symbolize?
The statue holds a tablet bearing the date of American independence. The broken shackles at her feet symbolize freedom, according to UNESCO.
Who owns and takes care of the Statue of Liberty today?
The federal government owns the statue, and the National Park Service administers it. UNESCO identifies pollution, severe weather, and large numbers of visitors as the main threats to the monument.
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