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A man of his time, Bartholdi wasn't alone in his passion for art on a grand
scale. During the 19th century, large-scale public monuments were an
especially popular art form. It was an age of ostentation, largely inspired
by classical Greek and Roman civilizations. Most monuments reflected either
the dress or architecture of these ancient times, so the artistic style of
the 19th century came to be known as neoclassical. However, it was a trip to Egypt that was to shift his artistic perspective from simply grand to
colossal. The overwhelming size and mysterious majesty of the Pyramids and
the Sphinx were awesome to the enthusiastic young Bartholdi. He wrote,
"Their kindly and impassive glance seems to ignore the present and to be
fixed upon an unlimited future."
While visiting Egypt, Bartholdi met a fellow Frenchman with ideas as big as
his own, who was to become his friend for life. Count Ferdinand-Marie de
Lesseps dreamed of piercing the desert with a canal that would run from the
Mediterranean to the Red Sea. While others first laughed at de Lesseps,
Bartholdi was inspired by the magnitude of the idea. As a sculptor, he
envisioned a giant lighthouse standing at the entrance to de Lesseps's
canal. It would be patterned after the Roman goddess Libertas, and twice the
size of the Sphinx.
In 1867, when de Lesseps's idea, the Suez Canal, was nearing completion,
Bartholdi drew up plans for his statue. It was to be in the form of a robed
female Egyptian peasant, a falaha, with light beaming out from both a
headband and a torch thrust dramatically upward into the skies. Its theme?
"Progress" or "Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia." (Years later, Bartholdi
denied any association between "Progress" and the final design for the
Statue of Liberty.) Bartholdi presented his plans for "Progress" to the Egyptian ruler, Isma'il Pasha, in 1867 and, with revisions, again in 1869.
But the project was never commissioned.
In 1870, with the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War, Bartholdi
temporarily changed careers; he became a major in the French army and was
stationed in his home city of Colmar. When the Germans annexed the entire
Alsace region, making its residents German citizens, the reality of the word
"liberty" took on a new, personal meaning for Bartholdi.
In time, France's Third Republic, patterned somewhat after the democratic
government of the United States, would emerge out of the ruins of the
Franco-Prussian War. Meanwhile, partially as propaganda to advance the cause
of those who were seeking the creation of a French republic, Laboulaye
suggested that Bartholdi should travel to America.
In recalling his conversation with Laboulaye several years later, Bartholdi
wrote: " 'Go to see that country,' said he [Laboulaye] to me. 'Propose to
our friends over there to make with us a monument, a common work, in
remembrance of the ancient friendship of France and the United States. If …
you find a plan that will excite public enthusiasm, we are convinced that it
will be successful on both continents, and we will do a work that
will have
far-reaching moral effect.' "
Bartholdi responded, "I will try to glorify the Republic and Liberty over
there, in the hope that someday I will find it again here."
So, armed with letters of introduction from Laboulaye to some of America's
most influential men, Bartholdi sailed aboard the Pereire from Le Havre,
France, for New York on June 8, 1871. He was now to become a salesman as
well as a soldier and visionary sculptor.
He found the perfect spot for his monument to independence even before he
landed on America's shores. Writing of his entrance into New York Harbor, he
said:
"The picture that is presented to the view when one arrives in New York is
marvelous, when, after some days of voyaging, in the pearly radiance of a
beautiful morning is revealed the magnificent spectacle of those immense
cities [Brooklyn and Manhattan], of those rivers extending as far as the eye
can reach, festooned with masts and flags; when one awakes, so to speak, in
the midst of that interior sea covered with vessels … it is thrilling. It
is, indeed, the New World, which appears in its majestic expanse, with the
ardor of its glowing life."
New York was the perfect locale, he added, since it was "where people get
their first view of the New World." Continuing, he said, "I've found an
admirable spot. It is Bedloe's Island, in the middle of the bay.… The island
belongs to the government; it's on national territory, be-longing to all the
states, just opposite the Narrows, which are, so to speak, the gateway to
America."
Intelligent and articulate, persuasive and charming, Bartholdi's silver
tongue and personal warmth were major assets as he met many prominent
American figures of the day, President Ulysses S. Grant, Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow, Horace Greeley, and Senator Charles Sumner among them.
His trip across America, like his trip to Egypt, filled him with amazement.
He was stunned by the vastness of the prairies, the soaring spectacle of the
Rockies, and the awesome sight of the Pacific Coast redwood forests. On his
way home to France he wrote, "Everything in America is big.… Here, even the
peas are big."
Everywhere he went, he carried a sketch of the statue as it would appear on
the island in New York Harbor; he also had a small model of it with him.
And, everywhere he went, he enthusiastically promoted the project. Americans
seemed receptive to the idea of a statue dedicated to "Liberty Enlightening
the World" (the official name for the statue), but no one was willing to
make a commitment of money or a building site.
Meanwhile, back in France, Laboulaye was biding his time. He realized that
it would be premature to publicize the idea of the statue until the Third
Republic became a reality. On his return to France, Bartholdi completed
other projects, including the monument of the Marquis de Lafayette that was
presented to the city of New York as a gift from France in 1876. At the same
time he refined his ideas and design for "the American statue."
In 1874, with the establishment of the Third Republic, Laboulaye and
Bartholdi agreed that "the lady's" time had come. Because the statue would
be prohibitively expensive to produce, they decided its cost should be
shared: France would pay for the statue; America would pay for its pedestal
and foundation. A fund-raising committee called the Franco-American Union
was formed, with members from both nations.
An appeal for funds to underwrite the cost of creating the statue was
launched in French newspapers in September 1875. The committee's goal was to
present the Statue of Liberty to the United States on July 4, 1876, in honor
of America's centennial.
Elaborate fundraising events were staged: a banquet at the Grand Hotel de
Louvre in November 1875; a gala benefit performance of a new Liberty Cantata
by French composer Charles Gounod at the Paris Opera. But money was slow in
coming. Enough was collected to begin work on the statue, but the goal of
completing it in time for America's 100th anniversary was impossible.
Work Begins
Bartholdi selected Caget, Gauthier and Company as his workshop. Its
craftsmen were experts in the art of repoussé, a technique for creating
sculptural forms by hammering sheet metal inside molds. (Both stone and
bronze had been discounted as materials due to their weight and expense.)
Lighter than cast metal, repoussé was the only method available that would
allow such a monumental work to be shipped overseas.
The intricate skeleton for the statue was to be designed by famed engineer
Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, already known
for his brilliant iron railroad bridges, and later celebrated for the Eiffel
Tower.
Bartholdi decided that if the statue could not be completed in time for
America's centennial celebration, at least the raised arm and torch could be
finished for showing at the International Centennial Exhibition in
Philadelphia. While 300,000 Frenchmen paid to watch the work in progress, 20
men worked 10 hours a day, 7 days a week, to meet the deadline. But, even
with "overtime," the section was not finished in time for the opening of the
exhibition, although it did arrive in the fall, before the fair closed.
Bartholdi was chosen as an official French representative to the Centennial
Exhibition. Two of his works were to be shown, the statue of Lafayette
(which was not actually unveiled until September 1876) and a monumental
fountain, which was prominently placed in front of the main exhibition hall.
On July 4, 1876, Bartholdi somewhat superstitiously traveled to Bedloe's
Island, the site he had already chosen for his statue. While there, he
remarked that it would be nice if the island were called Liberty Island.
(Eighty years later, in 1956, the name of Bedloe's Island was officially
changed to Liberty Island.)
The 30-foot arm of Liberty finally arrived in Philadelphia in August 1876.
For 50 cents, a visitor could climb a steel ladder leading to the balcony
surrounding the torch. This unique experience created a good deal of
enthusiasm for the project, since Liberty would be the first statue one
could climb inside.
With three major pieces on view at the Centennial Exhibition, Bartholdi's
name as a sculptor was becoming known in America.
The visit was also to become memorable on a more personal level. During a
trip to Montreal, the sculptor renewed his acquaintance with Jeanne-Emilie
Baheux de Puysieux, a woman he had first met at the home of his good friend
John La Farge. On December 20, 1876, Frédéric-Auguste and Jeanne-Emilie were
married.
Returning to France, Bartholdi set himself a new goal: to complete the
statue's head for the opening of the Paris World's Fair in May 1878.
Unfortunately, Liberty was to be a lady who was always late. The gleaming
copper head was not finished until June. When her head finally did appear at
the fair, "My daughter Liberty," as Bartholdi had begun calling her, was a
sensation. But she wasn't sensational enough to solve the never-ending
problem of raising the money needed to complete her construction. Finally,
someone with the Franco-American Union had an inspiration; they would hold a
lottery to raise funds.
Fundraising in France
Since very few contributions for building the statue were coming from
France's moneyed elite, the idea of engaging the public's attention with a
lottery was a brilliant one. The prizes were substantial: a silver plate set
worth 20,000 francs (about $20,000); jewelry fashioned from pearls and gems,
worth 5,000 francs; plus two works by Bartholdi, a terra cotta copy of a
statue honoring the military engineer the Marquis Sébastien Le Prestre de
Vauban, and a painting called The Wave.
Additional funds were raised in a manner worthy of contemporary
merchandising techniques: a signed and numbered collection of clay models
entitled "Models of the Committee," bearing the Franco-American Union's
seal, were sold for 1,000 francs each in France and for $3,000 each in
America. The buyer's name could be engraved in the clay before the statue
was baked.
By the end of 1879, about 250,000 francs had been raised for the statue's
construction. Enough, most people thought, to complete the work.
Fini!
On October 24, 1881, the American ambassador to France, Levi P. Morton,
drove the first rivet into the statue, an event that attracted international
attention. By December, Bartholdi wrote his American compatriots that "The
statue commences to reach above the houses, and next spring one will see it
overlook the entire city."
In the winter of 1883 Laboulaye died, never to see his dream come to life.
At last, in June 1884, Liberty received her final touches. She was dedicated
with much pomp and circumstance by French Prime Minister Jules Ferry and
Ambassador Morton. But when Bartholdi invited the celebrating party to join
him in climbing the statue's steps, few accepted the challenge.
Until the spring of 1885, when she was dismantled for the long voyage to
America, Liberty remained in Paris, the hostess to thousands of French
visitors.
All the while, Bartholdi assumed that the statue's base was also nearing
completion. He assumed too much.
Fund-raising in the United States
While construction of the statue was nearing completion in France, little
was happening on the American side of the Atlantic.
The American press continued to be critical of the project, especially of
its cost. They simply couldn't understand why the pedestal for the statue
should cost as much as the statue itself. Congress rejected a bill
appropriating $100,000 for the base. New York did approve a grant of
$50,000, but the expenditure was vetoed by the governor.
Many Americans outside of New York considered it New York's statue. "Let New
York pay for it," they said, while America's newly rich self-made
millionaires were saying and contributing nothing. The American half of the
Franco-American Union, led by William M. Evarts, held the usual fund-raising
events, but public apathy was almost as monumental as the statue itself.
By 1884, after years of fund-raising, only $182,491 had been collected, and
$179,624 had been spent. It took the intervention of Joseph Pulitzer and the
power of the media to make a difference.
Pulitzer to the Rescue
Joseph Pulitzer was a Hungarian immigrant who fought in the Civil War,
be-came a successful journalist, and married a wealthy woman. In 1883, when
he bought a financial newspaper called the World, he already owned the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch. When he heard that the Statue of Liberty was about to
die from lack of funds, he saw his chance to take advantage of three
distinct opportunities: to raise funds for the statue, to increase his
newspaper's circulation, and to blast the rich for their selfishness.
Pulitzer set the fund-raising goal of the World at $100,000. In its pages he
taunted the rich (thereby increasing the paper's circulation among
working-class people) and firmly planted the notion that the statue was a
monument not just for New York City but, indeed, for all of America.
Perhaps Pulitzer's cleverest ploy was the promise to publish the name of
every single contributor in the pages of the World, no matter how small the
contribution. The editorial that opened the fund-raising campaign set its
tone. He wrote: "The World is the people's paper and it now appeals to the
people to come forward and raise the money [for the statue's pedestal]." The
statue, he said, was paid for by "the masses of the French people. Let us
respond in like manner. Let us not wait for the millionaires to give this
money. It is not a gift from the millionaires of France to the millionaires
of America, but a gift of the whole people of France to the whole people of
America."
The circulation of the World increased by almost 50,000 copies.
African-American newspapers joined in the effort, encouraging their readers
to contribute to a monument that would, in part, commemorate the end of
slavery. So the money poured in, from single-dollar donations from
grandmothers to pennies from the piggybanks of schoolchildren.
On June 15, 1885, the Statue of Liberty - inside 214 wooden packing crates -
arrived at Bedloe's Island.
On August 11, 1885, the front page of the World proclaimed, "ONE HUNDRED
THOUSAND DOLLARS!" The goal had been reached, and slightly exceeded, thanks
to more than 120,000 individual contributions.
The Place on Which She Stands
The American Committee had selected an architect for Liberty's pedestal back
in December 1881. He was Richard Morris Hunt, a highly respected designer of
expensive homes, who was enormously popular with the wealthy set of New York
and Newport, Rhode Island. Hunt submitted a number of drawings for the
pedestal, and one was selected by the committee in 1884. The winning design
was for an 89-foot-high pedestal that would sit upon a concrete foundation
appearing to grow up from within the 11-pointed-star-shaped walls of Fort
Wood. His fee for the project was $1,000, which he promptly returned to the
fund to reassemble the statue.
General Charles P. Stone was the chief engineer in charge of the entire
construction project, including the foundation, the pedestal, and the
reassembly of the statue.
The foundation alone required 24,000 tons of concrete, the largest single
mass at that time ever poured. It measures 52 feet, 10 inches high. At the
bottom it is 91 feet square; at the top it is 65 feet square. The pedestal
rises 89 feet above the foundation.
The Statue of Liberty began to rise over her new home in America in May
1886. It would take six months to mount the statue to her base.
The Dream Accomplished
On October 25, 1886, Bartholdi and his wife, accompanied by Count
Ferdinand-Marie de Lesseps, chairman of the French Committee, arrived in
America. They were greeted by the American Committee and Joseph Pulitzer. At
Bedloe's Island, surrounded by newspaper reporters recording his words for
posterity, Bartholdi simply said, "The dream of my life is accomplished."
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