Liberty

Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi French

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 556

A gift of friendship from the French people to the United States, Bartholdi’s colossal Statue of Liberty famously celebrates freedom. Inspired by the American abolition of slavery, the idea for the monument originated in 1865 but was pursued only after the Third French Republic was established in 1870. This "committee model" is part of an edition of replicas that were sold to help finance the project. Like the final monument, it shows an austere Lady Liberty raising the torch of Enlightenment with the broken chains of tyranny at her feet.

Liberty, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (French, Colmar 1834–1904 Paris), Bronzed terracotta, French

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Liberty, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (French, Colmar 1834–1904 Paris), Bronzed terracotta, French
Liberty, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (French, Colmar 1834–1904 Paris), Bronzed terracotta, French
Liberty, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (French, Colmar 1834–1904 Paris), Bronzed terracotta, French

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