Unknown Artist and Maker
—(American, Akron, Ohio) —
Unknown Artist and Maker
(American, Akron, Ohio)
Replica of the Statue of Liberty, circa 1900
Galvanized sheet steel and zinc over iron frame
Gift of the Athena-Liberty Lofts, L.P., The Athena group, and Brickman Associates, in honor of the Fire Department of New York, New York police Department, Emergency Medical Services, and the New York State Court Officers and their heroism on September 11, 2001
Perhaps no American symbol is more widely recognized or powerfully expressive than "Liberty Enlightening the World" - the
Statue of Liberty. Since 1885, when the 151-foot original created by the French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904) was erected on Bedloe's Island, the colossal figure has inspired numerous smaller-scale replicas intended to echo the ideas of freedom, tolerance, and opportunity that it embodied for many of the immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. This thirty-foot replica was commissioned about 1900 by the Russian-born auctioneer William H. Flattau to sit atop his eight-story Liberty warehouse (at 43 West 64th Street), then one of the highest points on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Flattau thus combined his entrepreneurial spirit with pride in the adopted country in which he had prospered. Although squatter in proportion and less gracefully detailed than the
massive original, Flattau's replica retained something of the forceful gravity of expression achieved by Bartholdi.
Newly restored, this "little" Lady Liberty takes its place within the distinguished collection of outdoor sculpture and architectural fragments the Brooklyn Museum began about 1960, in an effort to preserve unique New York City treasures that were increasingly at risk.
The installation of the Museum's
Statue of Liberty replica and the associated conservation project were made possible by the generosity of The Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Charitable Trust. Additional support was given by the New York State Assembly and its Brooklyn Delegation, and John and Diana Herzog
Comments 0 comments