France’s Statue of Liberty gift marked historic US‑France friendship

France’s offer of the Statue of Liberty to the American people was a monumental diplomatic gesture.

The colossal neoclassical sculpture, created by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, was intended as a mark of friendship to commemorate the centenary of the 1776 United States declaration of independence. Although delivery was delayed by a decade, the gift also served as a reminder of France’s crucial assistance to the United States in breaking free from Britain.

Named “Liberty Enlightening the World,” the statue has become one of the world’s most recognised monuments, while its creator remains less well known. Paris’s Musée d’Orsay is now addressing this imbalance with an exhibition that highlights Bartholdi’s life and career.

Source: The Guardian. Photo: Jorge Alcalá / Pexels.