Statue of Liberty
by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, 1886
Details
- Year
- 1886
- Medium
- Copper on iron framework
- Size
- 93 m (305 ft) tall including pedestal
Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi designed this colossal copper statue as a gift from France to the United States, dedicated in 1886. Lady Liberty stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, her torch raised high, a broken chain at her feet. She has welcomed millions of immigrants and become one of the world's most recognized monuments.
The statue's construction required international collaboration. Bartholdi designed the exterior, engineer Gustave Eiffel created the iron framework, and copper sheets were hammered to shape in Paris before being shipped across the Atlantic. Americans struggled to fund the pedestal until Joseph Pulitzer's newspaper campaign shamed the wealthy and collected small donations from ordinary citizens.
The statue stands 93 meters tall (305 feet) from ground to torch tip, including the pedestal. Visitors can climb to the crown for harbor views, though reservations fill months in advance. The copper surface has oxidized to its distinctive green patina over the decades. Lady Liberty was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984, recognized as a universal symbol of freedom.
About Statue of Liberty
The statue itself stands 151 feet (46 meters) tall. With the pedestal, the total height reaches 305 feet (93 meters). The copper skin is only 2.4 mm thick, about the width of two pennies stacked. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi designed the exterior while Gustave Eiffel (yes, the tower guy) engineered the internal iron framework that holds the whole thing together.
She wasn't always green. When unveiled in 1886, the statue was shiny reddish-brown, the natural color of copper. Over about 20 years, exposure to air and moisture created a layer of copper carbonate called patina. That's the green you see today. The patina actually protects the copper underneath from further corrosion, so nobody's planning to polish it off.
You can. Visitors climb 354 steps (22 stories) to reach the crown, which has 25 windows overlooking New York Harbor. Crown access tickets sell out weeks in advance, so book early. The torch has been closed to the public since 1916 after a German sabotage explosion at nearby Black Tom Island damaged the arm. Pedestal access is easier to get.
France gave the statue to the United States as a gift of friendship in 1886. French political thinker Édouard de Laboulaye proposed the idea in 1865, and sculptor Bartholdi spent nearly a decade designing and building it. France paid for the statue, America paid for the pedestal. Both countries had to raise funds through public donations. The statue was shipped across the Atlantic in 214 crates.
She stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. Despite common belief, the island is technically in New Jersey waters, though it falls under New York's jurisdiction. You can only reach it by ferry from either Manhattan or Liberty State Park in New Jersey. The statue faces southeast, greeting ships entering the harbor, just as Bartholdi intended.
Own Art Like This
Luxury wall art with the same mood and energy. Gallery-quality canvas, no museum crowds.
Browse Collection