Parisians, used to all sorts of spectacles, were not easily impressed. Yet in 1884 they were astonished to see a colossal statue growing above the roofs of rue de la Chazelle buildings where a metal workshop was located. It was called La Statue de la Liberté.
The story of the Statue of Liberty is one of extraordinary perseverance. It begins during a dinner given by Edouard René de Laboulaye in Versailles in June 1865. Laboulaye was then a renowned professor with expertise in American politics; he was also the president of the Association for the Abolition of Slavery. That evening, he invited his colleagues and friends to celebrate the end of the Civil War. The guests decided to make a gesture towards the United States to celebrate the event but also to express their pain after the death of Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated in April of that year.
Among the guests was a sculptor, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, aged thirty. Bartholdi, who had returned from a trip to Egypt, was fascinated by the colossi of Antiquity and he proposed the idea of a giant statue representing the free spirit of America. The French would offer the statue as a gift to the United States for the centenary of the American Revolution of 1776.
At first, the American project remained in abeyance as Bartholdi got involved with another design: a monumental statue that was to stand at the southern entrance to the Suez Canal in Egypt, then under construction. After that project was shelved, Bartholdi set sail for America in the summer of 1871. During the crossing, he reworked his sketches of the Suez project and changed the Egyptian woman into a classical Greco-Roman statue. Arriving in New York, he quickly found the ideal location: Bedloe Island in the bay facing Manhattan. But there was a problem: Bartholdi did not speak a word of English and did not know anyone of importance. He crossed the United States for several months, searching for donors, and left without a cent.
He did not give up and launched an appeal for donations on his return to France. Five years later, the sculptor had enough money to build the hand and the torch. He had the bright idea of presenting the partial sculpture to the public during the 1876 World’s Fair in Philadelphia, marking the centenary of the American Declaration of Independence.
Of all the exhibits, the statue was the most popular one, and the most photographed. Visitors could climb inside and admire the view from the top of the torch. Besides being a good salesman, Bartholdi understood the power of the media and in particular the new illustrated magazines that were then appearing. The drawings of the completed statue, along with the photos of the torch and the head, made the project popular and eventually convinced Americans to take an interest in the statue.
Laboulaye and Bartholdi, the two fathers of the statue, had an agenda. Their project was not devoid of political motives, as the origins of the statue had a lot to do with the internal politics of France. The Second Empire was an authoritarian regime, and the two men were liberals. At the time, it was difficult to criticize the authorities. France’s gift to the United States was an indirect political statement. By honoring America and liberty, they proclaimed their support for republican ideas. The gesture was also aimed at recalling the decisive aid that France had given to the American insurgents to wrestle independence from the British crown.
However, France had no longer the odor of holiness in Washington. Napoleon III supported the Southerners in the Civil War and tried to take advantage of the conflict to colonize Mexico. The States also had many German immigrants, and the American government supported Prussia during its war with France. The strained relations changed with the advent of the Third Republic in 1870. Both countries now featured similar forms of government while Germany was becoming increasingly authoritarian, and the other great power, England, was not a republic. This helped to convince the Americans.
It is important to notice that the statue was a gift from the French to the Americans and not from France to America, because neither the French government nor the American government contributed to its realization. In the summer of 1875, Bartholdi brought together American and French personalities in his Parisian studio, and they created a committee, the Franco-American Union, chaired by Laboulaye. A major fundraising campaign was launched, supported by newspapers. At the end of 1875, the committee collected 200,000 francs which was a considerable sum.
The question of the design was discussed. With the dimensions imagined by Bartholdi, materials such as stone and bronze were unthinkable. Bartholdi then remembered his visit to northern Italy where he saw the statue of Saint Charles Borromeo, 23 meters in height, and made of copper supported by a masonry frame. Bartholdi also chose copper and made the first model a quarter of the final size. To support the copper sheets, the statue needed a solid skeleton capable of resisting the winds of New York Bay. A new man was brought to the project, Gustave Eiffel. He was not yet a worldwide celebrity with his impressive tower built in 1889, but the engineer had already made a name for himself with a remarkable viaduct in Cantal. Eiffel opted for metal: four wrought iron pylons connected by interlacing beams on a base of stone and cement.
In 1877, the Americans created a committee in favor of the statue and agreed to provide a pedestal. A year later, the head was completed and exhibited in Paris throughout the summer. Many curious climbed the 43 steps leading to the crown. A national lottery was launched in the process: it brought together 100,000 subscribers before the head was transferred to the workshop in the 17th arrondissement.
The statue rose, exceeded the roof – which had to be removed – and took its final form above Paris. It was open to the public from July to December 1884.
The ceremony of the official dedication of the Statue of Liberty took place on July 4, 1884. Following the speech of Ferdinand de Lesseps, President of the Franco-American Union, the Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States, Morton, declared to accept the colossal statue, with the thanks of the American government and people. After signing the minutes of the dedication, the many officials – deputies and ministers – undertook, under the leadership of Bartholdi, the first public ascent of the monument, to the torch, from where they admired the Parisian panorama. The party ended around a buffet set up under a tent, at the foot of “Liberté”.
Things were rapidly progressing in Paris but they were lagging in New York where Americans were slow in raising money for the pedestal. Bartholdi would not wait any longer. In May 1885, the Liberté was dismantled and stored in over 200 crates on a ship sailing for New York. Bartholdi was playing his all: the American committee, which had not finished the work on the pedestal, needed to feel the pressure.
In June, the ship arrived in front of the site and unloaded its precious cargo next to the unfinished pedestal. Parts of the statue remained scattered on Bedloe Island. Thanks to a relentless press campaign organized by journalist Joseph Pulitzer, things began to move. A goal of $100,000 was reached in August, collected from 120,000 donors. The pedestal was constructed; it weighed 28,000 tons.
The reconstruction of the statue was completed in October. At first reluctant, the American Congress finally agreed to finance the inauguration to the tune of 50,000 dollars. The great day took place on October 26, 1886. The city was decked out in red, white, and blue, the colors of France and America. A parade brought together a million New Yorkers. “The entire city was a huge cheer,” wrote the New York World. Bartholdi revealed the face of Liberty by bringing down the large sheet that hid it. The moment was greeted by the cannon shots of a warship and the sirens of 300 ships. In the distance, in New York, the bells were ringing.
Unfortunately, one of the fathers of the project would not see this triumph. Edouard René de Laboulaye died five years earlier, while the statue was still in construction.
Lastly, who is hiding behind the face of the Statue of Liberty? Since its inauguration, the craziest rumors have been circulating. The enigma was maintained by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi himself. During his lifetime, the sculptor was assailed with questions. He let the mystery hover. Of all the possible models, only one face fits: that of the Frenchwoman Isabelle Boyer, widow of the billionaire Isaac Merritt Singer, founder of the famous sewing machines, and married to her second husband, the Duke of Campo Selice of Luxembourg. It was therefore her, the Duchess of Campo Selice, who inspired the sculptor with her classical features.
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Super interesting as usual. I learnt a lot.
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Fascinating history – thank you! 🙂
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