Description:

Bartholdi Frederic

Vintage sepia-toned albumen photographic print of Statue of Liberty’s disembodied right arm bearing torch, as exhibited at Madison Square Park, New York over a six-year period. In very good to near fine condition. The photo has been trimmed and there are three partial scissor cuts near the center, overall measuring 5” x 6.5”.

Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904) studied painting, sculpture, and architecture under well-known instructors like Viollet-le-Duc in Paris. Following his service in the Franco-Prussian War, Bartholdi became increasingly interested in sculpting monumental works celebrating resistance against oppression, and Enlightenment ideals like Freedom. Bartholdi later conceived of the design of the “Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World”. The fundraising phase of this process would take years, and indeed long surpass the actual 100th anniversary of the United States. Yet once it was installed in 1886, the massive copper-clad sculpture of a standing woman would fundamentally change the cityscape.

The Statue of Liberty’s completed 42’ high right arm bearing a torch with a stylized flame was exhibited at Madison Square Park, New York between 1876-1882. It was displayed on a white stone pedestal adorned with a small-scale model and artist’s rendering of the finished Statue. It was hoped that the exhibition of the arm would encourage further fundraising for the Statue’s pedestal. New Yorkers delighted in scaling the sculpture for a nominal fee. Bartholdi finished the arm first because it could stand alone if financing for the entire Statue of Liberty project fizzled out.

The Statue’s completed right arm had arrived from France in August 1886 and was a highlight of the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia during the summer of 1876. From May until October of that year, approximately ten million visitors toured buildings, exhibits, and inventions on display in Philadelphia to commemorate the nation’s birthday. Ever the ingenious publicist, Bartholdi instigated regional rivalry between Philadelphia and New York by publicly speculating about which city would house his finished Statue.

Little did Bartholdi know that the completed Statue of Liberty would only be inaugurated in situ a full decade after the arm was exhibited in mid-town Manhattan!

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