Statue of Liberty
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Statue of Liberty, original color before acquiring natural patina
Undated:
The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening
the World; French: La Liberté éclairant le monde) is a
colossal
neoclassical sculpture on
Liberty Island in
New York Harbor in
New York, in the
United States. The copper statue, a gift from the people of
France to the
people of the United States, was designed by French sculptor
Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and its metal framework was built by
Gustave Eiffel. The statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886.
The Statue of Liberty is a figure of
Libertas,
a robed Roman
liberty goddess. She holds a torch above her head with her right hand, and
in her left hand carries a
tabula ansata inscribed in
Roman numerals with "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" (July 4, 1776), the date of the
U.S. Declaration of Independence. A broken chain lies at her feet as she
walks forward. The statue became an icon of freedom and of the United States,
and a
national park tourism destination. It is a welcoming sight to
immigrants arriving from abroad.
Bartholdi was inspired by a French law professor and politician,
Édouard René de Laboulaye, who is said to have commented in 1865 that any
monument raised to U.S. independence would properly be a joint project of the
French and U.S. peoples. Because of the
post-war instability in France, work on the statue did not commence until
the early 1870s. In 1875, Laboulaye proposed that the French finance the statue
and the U.S. provide the site and build the pedestal. Bartholdi completed the
head and the torch-bearing arm before the statue was fully designed, and these
pieces were exhibited for publicity at international expositions.
The torch-bearing arm was displayed at the
Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, and in
Madison Square Park in
Manhattan
from 1876 to 1882. Fundraising proved difficult, especially for the Americans,
and by 1885 work on the pedestal was threatened by lack of funds. Publisher
Joseph Pulitzer, of the
New York World, started a drive for donations to finish the project and
attracted more than 120,000 contributors, most of whom gave less than a dollar.
The statue was built in France, shipped overseas in crates, and assembled on the
completed pedestal on what was then called Bedloe's Island. The statue's
completion was marked by New York's first
ticker-tape parade and a dedication ceremony presided over by President
Grover Cleveland.
The statue was administered by the
United States Lighthouse Board until 1901 and then by the
Department of War; since 1933 it has been maintained by the
National Park Service as part of the
Statue of Liberty National Monument. Public access to the balcony around the
torch has been barred since 1916.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty
-- 2017 --
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May 24: How Do You
Save the Statue of Liberty From Drowning?
Lady Liberty is a towering symbol of our national vulnerability to the changing
planet.
In her current position, with her toes about 154 feet above the waterline, Lady
Liberty is better protected than many of her human neighbors. In one extreme
scenario
posited by the website Climate Central, melting ice sheets in Antarctica
would cause sea levels to rise roughly 12 feet by 2100. That would be enough to
produce average high tides 2 feet above the flood level caused by Hurricane
Sandy, which swamped Liberty Island and destroyed its electrical systems.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-05-24/saving-the-statue-of-liberty-from-climate-change
-- 2018 --
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June 20: Saving Lady
Liberty: How Peter Max Helped Restore the Statue of Liberty
Iconic Pop artist
Peter Max
has several recurring images that he’s returned to throughout his prolific
career, but perhaps none are more famous than the Statue of Liberty. Max has
been enamored with the statue since ever completing his first portrait of it 42
years ago.
Standing at 305 feet tall, the Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom,
optimism, and friendship among nations. Lady Liberty’s classic design is based
on the Roman goddess Libertas, the embodiment of liberty.
However, in the early 1980s, the statue hardly resembled a goddess. It was
cracked, crumbling, and in desperate need of restoration. Fortunately, its
salvation came from an unlikely source—Max.
https://www.parkwestgallery.com/peter-max-statue-of-liberty/
July 12: Challenges Of Cleaning The Statue
Of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty hasn’t had a bath in more than 130 years, according to an
article on the AM New York website. And despite regular maintenance and a
handful of restoration projects, the symbol of American freedom is plagued by a
green hue — a direct result of not being washed.
It's difficult to tell now, but Lady Liberty is actually made of copper and was
the color of an old penny when it first opened in 1886. Her look changed over
time because as copper oxidizes it develops a green patina. That patina shields
the statue from the extreme elements of New York Harbor, like high winds, salt
water and air pollution.
Cleaning the green patina from the Statue of Liberty could do more harm than
good, according to National Park Service spokesman Jerry Willis in a statement
to AM New York. But that doesn't mean there are no maintenance chores.
A team of 24 caregivers from the National Park Service and several contractors
maintain the statue and tend to groundskeeping, clear drainage grates, and keep
the plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems working.
https://www.cleanlink.com/news/article/Challenges-Of-Cleaning-The-Statue-Of-Liberty--22628
November 15: Moving the Statue of Liberty's
Original Torch
For nearly 100 years, this gold and copper marvel served as a beacon of freedom
in the outstretched hand of Lady Liberty. On November 15, 2018, the Statue of
Liberty’s original torch moved into its new home inside the Statue of Liberty
Museum currently being built on Liberty Island. The torch had been removed from
atop the monument in 1984, as part of the Statue’s centennial restoration
project, and placed on display inside the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal. Led by
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation and the U.S. Department of the
Interior/National Park Service, a team of engineers disassembled the torch and
relocated it from the monument’s pedestal across Liberty Island to the new
museum site. Under the glow of the new torch and gold-gilded flame held by Lady
Liberty since 1985, a special hydraulically stabilized transporter vehicle took
the original torch 470 feet across the island before the torch was lifted by
crane into the new museum.
The 3,600-pound original torch will be the centerpiece of the new Statue of
Liberty Museum, a 26,000-square-foot museum that will celebrate the Statue of
Liberty’s history, influence, and legacy in the world. Visitors will get an
up-close view of the iconic symbol in its new home in the Inspiration Gallery,
which features floor-to-ceiling glass panels overlooking the Statue of Liberty
and Manhattan skyline. The museum will be free to visitors with the purchase of
a ferry ticket to visit Liberty and Ellis Islands and is expected to open to the
public in May 2019.
https://libertyellisfoundation.org/torchmove?ccd=Email-Series-1.CAMP20173
November 16: Over the years, the copper
flame had been substantially altered in order to better light the torch. Initial
efforts, which involved punching holes in the flame so it could be illuminated
from within, had underwhelming results. So in 1916, sculptor Gutzon Borglum—the
creator of Mount Rushmore—added amber glass panels to the design. But the window
panes leaked, causing damage to the statue’s arm and ultimately necessitating
its replacement.
The new torch replicated sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi’s original design,
and even added 24-carat gold leaf gilding, an element of the artist’s vision
that had been too expensive to execute at the time. In the decades since, the
original torch has been on display in the museum inside the statue’s pedestal.
The torch was actually the first portion of the Statue of Liberty to arrive in
New York after being shipped piecemeal across the ocean from France. After
debuting at the World’s Fair in Philadelphia in 1876, it went on display in
Madison Square Park as part of an effort to raise money to build a pedestal for
the statue.
The arm and torch were closed to visitors in 1916 after German spies launched
shrapnel into the statue as the result of an attack targeting the nearby Black
Tom munitions depot. Black Tom Island has since become part of Liberty Island
thanks to landfill expansion projects. Entering the torch requires climbing a
40-foot ladder, accessible only to staff.
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/statue-of-liberty-torch-moved-ahead-of-opening-of-new-museum-1397782
-- 2019 --
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-- 2020 --
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