The Legacy and the message of Lady Liberty [fr]

The Statue of Liberty: Symbol of Franco-American friendship and Allegory of hope

The gift from a people to another

It was 135 years ago when, despite the pouring rain, the city of New York was adorned with French and American flags. Regiments from both countries, sailors, tugboats, New Yorkers of all ages, President Cleveland, and all the American people held their breath as the face of the Statue of Liberty was still masked by a colossal French flag.

For French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi, it was the accomplishment of a fabulous journey that lasted 20 years.

It is the law professor and abolitionist Edouard de Laboulaye, in 1865, who had the idea of making a significant gift to the American people whose Revolution had inspired the French revolt and whose Declaration of Independence had served as a model for the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789.
De Laboulaye dreamt of offering to the American people a gift to celebrate the 100 years of its Independence and to honor the 100 years of friendship between the two countries; at that time, de Laboulaye could not forget that the United States would not have won the battle of Yorktown without the ships of the Conte de Grasse and the soldiers of Rochambeau.

It was in the Rue Vavin in Paris that Auguste Bartholdi, a sculptor very close to de Laboulaye, began modeling multiple clay statues. He wanted her to resemble the country he has just traveled to.

When he returned to France, he had the certainty that the sculpture had to be massive and elegant - as were the Seven Wonders of the World - and that it had to stand on an island in New York Harbor so that it would welcome newcomers on American soil.

Bartholdi also had the conviction that the French ought to fund its realization. Indeed, for more than 10 years, craftsmen, retailers, workers, employees, and cities all came together to support the project.

A true Inspiration even before crossing the Atlantic

In 1883, “Lady Liberty” was the Lady of Paris. The French came to see her grow as she was being constructed. Gustave Eiffel gave her a skeleton, a challenging feat in that it had to hold up over 80 tons of copper skin. The French watched her; she inspired them, and they financed her construction.

Despite some reluctance, the fascination was mirrored on the other side of the Atlantic in the United States. Poet Emma Lazarus and journalist Joseph Pulitzer wrote to persuade Americans to make donations toward the construction of her pedestal. Both authors - being of immigrant descent - perceived the strength of her symbol.

She IS the “Liberty Enlightening the World" but also the symbol of New York and the United States. In Pulitzer’s words, she is already “the door of hope for all immigrants ", for Lazarus “soon newcomers will be greeted in the New World by a lady as caring as she is powerful ".

In November 1883, Emma Lazarus wrote her famous poem “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! ”

The day the Statue was unveiled – on October 28, 1886 - Auguste Bartholdi said:

Mon Américaine does not conquer with weapons. True liberty triumphs through Truth, Justice and Law. She wears a flowing robe like the ancient goddesses Libertas. Her right foot is raised. Liberty walks. Freedom never stands still. A broken shackle and chain lie near her feet.
America broke the links of slavery to fulfill its promise of equality for all.

In one hand, she holds a tablet engraved with July 4, 1776; in the other hand, she holds a torch - the one that illuminates and gives hope-.
Every part of her shouts Liberty!

2021, a second journey, the one of a little sister of “Lady Liberty” to celebrate the longstanding friendship between our two countries

Thanks to the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (CNAM), the French Embassy in the United States and the shipping company, CMA-CGM Group, the bronze statue, which was in the CNAM’s square, began its voyage toward Ellis Island to pay a visit to “Lady Liberty”.

The new statue will be by her side for Independence Day. She will then be installed in Washington, DC at the Residence de France for Bastille Day.

This “Lady Liberty 2021”, which is nearly 10 feet tall and almost 1,000 pounds, was made from the original 1878 plaster model by Auguste Bartholdi.
Exhibited for more than 10 years on the forecourt of the CNAM, she will ultimately join Washington, D.C., where she will remain for ten years.

After a nine-day voyage on board CMA CGM Tosca, she will be displayed at Ellis Island, from July 1st to 5th, 2021, in front of her big copper sister where they will celebrate Independence Day together.
She will then take the road to Washington, D.C., thanks to CEVA Logistics, a subsidiary of the CMA-CGM group.

On July 14th, Bastille Day, she will be unveiled at the Residence de France in Washington, D.C., representing the French American friendship and symbolizing its shared values - liberty, the hope of a better life, and the fight against oppression.

Miami’s hidden treasure: an original copy of the head of the Statue of Liberty

Although Florida will not receive a visit from the “Lady Liberty” 2021, Miami can be proud of harboring its material heritage.

• From generation to generation, the Haligon family has preserved the know-how of their ancestor, Louis Haligon, who contributed to the enlargement of the original sculpture by Auguste Bartholdi.

The initial plasterwork was enlarged more than four times thanks to a tool that Louis Haligon mastered wonderfully, the pantograph. Caroline and Olivier Haligon, who created the Haligon Fine Art studio in Miami in the late 90s, design and build artwork by artists from all over the world using this technique in 3D or 2D, depending on the artists’ projects.

Louis Haligon, 1ère génération - Crédits : Haligon Fine Art, Inc.

A droite : Georgette Haligon (Génération 2) avec son fils Robert Haligon (Gen 3, le père d’Olivier) à Paris. A gauche : Olivier Haligon (le père) et Caroline Haligon (la fille) dans leur atelier à Miami. - Crédits : Haligon Fine Art, Inc.

• Haligon Fine Art workshop also owns an original copy of the head of the Statue of Liberty which stands above 7 feet and reaches 7 feet wide. The imposing figure makes it possible to realize the determination of the gaze and the features of the Lady. To use Bartholdi’s words, indeed everything about her breathes Freedom.

In celebration of Bastille Day on July 14, 2021, and to echo the visit of the bronze Statue to Washington, this imposing and unique head will be installed at the Residence of the Consul General of France in Miami thanks to the support of the CMA-CGM group and the generosity of Olivier and Caroline Haligon Haligon Fine Art workshop.

She will be installed there shortly before Independence Day and will celebrate July 14th with us!

Learn more about the pantograph and what the Statue means for the Haligon’s family, in video

Who were the thinkers and artists behind the making of the Statue of Liberty? What meant in the late XIX century the term ’liberty’?

Logan Connors, Professor of Modern Languages, and Director of French Undergraduate Studies at the University of Miami takes the time to unfold the behind-the-scenes story and to trace the values that gave birth to the monument of the Statue of Liberty, a lasting symbol conveying so much for all of us!

And what are the symbols that “Lady Liberty” personifies today? Different persons aswers the question ! -> Watch their videos

We asked different persons, what the Statue meant for them.
Two students living in Miami answered the question in a brief interview:

• French-American High School student, Lissa Ruben

• Invited by the organization Global Ties Miami, Kary Perez answered the question as well

“The renewal of a Symbol”! - Join the conversation introduced by the Ambassador of France, Francis Etienne

#ViveLaLiberty - Creative Contest Crédits : Ambassade de France aux Etats-Unis

To celebrate the arrival of the statue, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States hosted a virtual roundtable, followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

Philippe Etienne, Ambassador of France to the United States introduced the conversation with Lonnie G. Bunch – Secretary of the Smithsonian, David Blight – Sterling Professor of History, of African American Studies, and of American Studies, Olivier Faron – General administrator of the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers, and Pap Ndiaye – Director of the Musée de l’Histoire de l’immigration (Paris).

They discussed the current significance of the symbols the Statue of Liberty carries: the Franco-American friendship, freedom, hope for a better world, and the fight against oppression.

Watch the roundtable on Facebook @FranceintheUS here.
Recorded online, Wed, Jun 23, 2021 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM EDT
#ViveLaLiberty