An Illustrated History of America’s Most Storied Woman
LADY LIBERTY Essays by
Joan Marans Dim Paintings by
Antonio Masi
Contents
Realization
Introduction 1
1 Illumination 9 2 Ambition 19 3 Realization 31 4 Poetry 43 5 Immigration 51 6 Portal 65 7 Promises 77 Acknowledgments 85
Selected Bibliography 87
3
When I discover a subject grand enough, I will honor that subject by building the tallest statue in the world.
—Frédéric August Bartholdi
There is an attraction and a charm in the colossal that is not subject to ordinary theories of art. —Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel
Inside [the Statue of Liberty] we seem to be looking up to the lantern of a gothic cathedral into dim distance. It is rather dark, but the gloom is pierced by thousands of little eyelets of light marking the holes left for the rivets. —The Morning News: The Latest Telegrams of the Day, Paris, 14 May 1884
Contents
Realization
Introduction 1
1 Illumination 9 2 Ambition 19 3 Realization 31 4 Poetry 43 5 Immigration 51 6 Portal 65 7 Promises 77 Acknowledgments 85
Selected Bibliography 87
3
When I discover a subject grand enough, I will honor that subject by building the tallest statue in the world.
—Frédéric August Bartholdi
There is an attraction and a charm in the colossal that is not subject to ordinary theories of art. —Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel
Inside [the Statue of Liberty] we seem to be looking up to the lantern of a gothic cathedral into dim distance. It is rather dark, but the gloom is pierced by thousands of little eyelets of light marking the holes left for the rivets. —The Morning News: The Latest Telegrams of the Day, Paris, 14 May 1884
M
agnificent feats of artistry and engineering were accomplished in
the nineteenth century—the Eiffel Tower, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Washington Monument, to name three. Surely another notable nineteenth-century feat was the creation and construction
Writes Elizabeth Mitchell cheekily in Liberty’s Torch:
Facing page: Dream under Construction (60˝ × 40˝ )
People went in droves to visit, particularly on Sunday, which a reporter pointed out “is the Parisian holiday for all sorts of diversions from sightseeing to a revolution.”
of the Statue of Liberty, which principally employed two Frenchmen, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel. Both were imbued with persistent ambition,
Everyone toiling on the statue shared,
exceptional creative skills, and a love of the
whether consciously or unconsciously, a
colossal. One was an artist, the other a civil
kindred destiny. By helping to create and
engineer.
build the colossus, they honored the Amer-
Bartholdi and Eiffel were assisted by
ican ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of
an army of some 600 skilled artisans and
happiness as well as the friendship between
craftsmen trained in the tradition of French
France and America. In committing to such
building skills dating back to the Middle
a task, as political as it was artistic and tech-
Ages. The artisans and craftsmen were
nologically audacious, the notion of a statue
employed by the foundry Gaget, Gauthier
was a tangible rejection of the repression of
et Cie workshops, which was tasked with
Napoleon III, who was deposed in 1873.
building, assembling, and, last, disassem-
When Bartholdi returned from his
bling the statue for shipment to America.
first trip to America in 1871, he worked
The foundry was located on what was,
intermittently during the next four years
at the time, an undeveloped section on the
designing and refining the statue’s form.
northwest border of Paris, a few blocks from
By 1875, he’d created a 4´ tall clay model
the Parc Monceau, one of the city’s most
of Lady Liberty, which was approved by
elegant parks. Sometimes the statue was
Laboulaye and named “The Statue of Liberty
affectionately called “Lady of the Park.”
Enlightening the World.” That same year
Today the area has been transformed into a stylish neighborhood. As Lady Liberty rose above the courtyard of the foundry, she was easily spotted from
iv
Timing
the Franco-American Union was created with Laboulaye as chairman to raise funds in France for Lady Liberty’s construction. In 1877, the American Committee for The
afar as she towered over Paris’s low-slung
Statue of Liberty was formed and charged
nineteenth-century rooftops. As a result, she
with the seemingly Herculean job of fund-
became a lively tourist attraction. Bartholdi
raising for construction of the pedestal and
ventured that some 300,000 people visited
foundation. Additionally, two other important
Gaget, Gauthier et Cie to view his rising
events occurred in 1877: The U.S. Congress
Lady. In fact, throngs were so great that
formally accepted the statue as a gift from
Bartholdi, forever searching for new ways to
the people of France, and President Ulysses
fundraise, decided to charge admission to
S. Grant signed the bill officially designating
view his Lady up close.
Bedloe’s Island as the statue’s site. v
M
agnificent feats of artistry and engineering were accomplished in
the nineteenth century—the Eiffel Tower, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Washington Monument, to name three. Surely another notable nineteenth-century feat was the creation and construction
Writes Elizabeth Mitchell cheekily in Liberty’s Torch:
Facing page: Dream under Construction (60˝ × 40˝ )
People went in droves to visit, particularly on Sunday, which a reporter pointed out “is the Parisian holiday for all sorts of diversions from sightseeing to a revolution.”
of the Statue of Liberty, which principally employed two Frenchmen, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel. Both were imbued with persistent ambition,
Everyone toiling on the statue shared,
exceptional creative skills, and a love of the
whether consciously or unconsciously, a
colossal. One was an artist, the other a civil
kindred destiny. By helping to create and
engineer.
build the colossus, they honored the Amer-
Bartholdi and Eiffel were assisted by
ican ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of
an army of some 600 skilled artisans and
happiness as well as the friendship between
craftsmen trained in the tradition of French
France and America. In committing to such
building skills dating back to the Middle
a task, as political as it was artistic and tech-
Ages. The artisans and craftsmen were
nologically audacious, the notion of a statue
employed by the foundry Gaget, Gauthier
was a tangible rejection of the repression of
et Cie workshops, which was tasked with
Napoleon III, who was deposed in 1873.
building, assembling, and, last, disassem-
When Bartholdi returned from his
bling the statue for shipment to America.
first trip to America in 1871, he worked
The foundry was located on what was,
intermittently during the next four years
at the time, an undeveloped section on the
designing and refining the statue’s form.
northwest border of Paris, a few blocks from
By 1875, he’d created a 4´ tall clay model
the Parc Monceau, one of the city’s most
of Lady Liberty, which was approved by
elegant parks. Sometimes the statue was
Laboulaye and named “The Statue of Liberty
affectionately called “Lady of the Park.”
Enlightening the World.” That same year
Today the area has been transformed into a stylish neighborhood. As Lady Liberty rose above the courtyard of the foundry, she was easily spotted from
iv
Timing
the Franco-American Union was created with Laboulaye as chairman to raise funds in France for Lady Liberty’s construction. In 1877, the American Committee for The
afar as she towered over Paris’s low-slung
Statue of Liberty was formed and charged
nineteenth-century rooftops. As a result, she
with the seemingly Herculean job of fund-
became a lively tourist attraction. Bartholdi
raising for construction of the pedestal and
ventured that some 300,000 people visited
foundation. Additionally, two other important
Gaget, Gauthier et Cie to view his rising
events occurred in 1877: The U.S. Congress
Lady. In fact, throngs were so great that
formally accepted the statue as a gift from
Bartholdi, forever searching for new ways to
the people of France, and President Ulysses
fundraise, decided to charge admission to
S. Grant signed the bill officially designating
view his Lady up close.
Bedloe’s Island as the statue’s site. v
Some immigrants, obviously ill, were
violently, prodding them with sticks . . . as
immediately sent to Ellis Island Hospital
they hustled the immigrants onto the ferries
directly from their ships. Passage through
and barges.”
the portal then began in earnest for the
Finally, at Ellis Island, the immigrants
remaining passengers, who, finally, were al-
climbed the staircase to the Registry Hall in
lowed to disembark. Terra firma, at last. But
Ellis Island’s sprawling main building. This
not for long. Struggling with their children
was the immigrant’s first test on Ellis Island.
and belongings—sacks, bundles, baskets,
But most didn’t know it. Looking on from
suitcases, backpacks, rucksacks, crumpled
above the staircase, inspectors secretly
packages—they were swiftly crammed onto
eyed each immigrant, searching for any
ferries or barges and hauled the fifteen-min-
indications of infirmities, while shouting and
ute, half-mile to Ellis Island.
shoving guards further unnerved the spent
In the book Imported Americans, author Broughton Brandenburg describes how
The Great Hall (41 1/2˝ × 67 1/4˝ )
and likely confused travelers. As the immigrants approached the top
“. . . the dock men displayed great unnec-
of the steps, chalk markings on the backs
essary roughness, sometimes shoving them
of immigrants were sometimes added.
God Bless America (40˝ × 26˝ ) vi
vii
Some immigrants, obviously ill, were
violently, prodding them with sticks . . . as
immediately sent to Ellis Island Hospital
they hustled the immigrants onto the ferries
directly from their ships. Passage through
and barges.”
the portal then began in earnest for the
Finally, at Ellis Island, the immigrants
remaining passengers, who, finally, were al-
climbed the staircase to the Registry Hall in
lowed to disembark. Terra firma, at last. But
Ellis Island’s sprawling main building. This
not for long. Struggling with their children
was the immigrant’s first test on Ellis Island.
and belongings—sacks, bundles, baskets,
But most didn’t know it. Looking on from
suitcases, backpacks, rucksacks, crumpled
above the staircase, inspectors secretly
packages—they were swiftly crammed onto
eyed each immigrant, searching for any
ferries or barges and hauled the fifteen-min-
indications of infirmities, while shouting and
ute, half-mile to Ellis Island.
shoving guards further unnerved the spent
In the book Imported Americans, author Broughton Brandenburg describes how
The Great Hall (41 1/2˝ × 67 1/4˝ )
and likely confused travelers. As the immigrants approached the top
“. . . the dock men displayed great unnec-
of the steps, chalk markings on the backs
essary roughness, sometimes shoving them
of immigrants were sometimes added.
God Bless America (40˝ × 26˝ ) vi
vii
Magnificent art complements an unvarnished history of the Statue of Liberty and its relationship to immigration policy in the United States throughout the years “Could there be a book more timely, more pertinent for America today than Lady Liberty? I do not think so. The book is a beautiful reminder of what makes us so special, blended with the history that tells us that if America loses its welcoming soul, we have lost what makes us so special.” —David Lawrence Jr., retired publisher of the Miami Herald
“In an inspiring story about a statue named Lady Liberty, we find out how she was conceived in one artist’s colossal imagination and given everlasting meaning by another. This epic journey criss-crosses time and the globe to show how two works of art conjoin to underscore the rightful dignity belonging to the words immigrant, refugee, and laborer while highlighting our nation’s still unfulfilled ideals. I had no idea, until now, about the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) needed to complete America’s symbol of hope and freedom.” —Dr. Sheril Antonio, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University
“Joan Marans Dim tells the origin story of the statue and its significance in the overall story of the immigrant experience in the United States. Award-winning artist Antonio Masi’s expressive artwork lends powerful visuals to the telling with compelling images of the statue itself and the Ellis Island gateway, as well as the faces of individual immigrants and families—faces that express both the optimism and the struggle . . . enlightening and affecting.” —Anne Hevener, Editor-in-Chief of Artists Magazine, Watercolor Artist, and Pastel Journal ANTONIO MASI is a world-class and award-winning artist often honored for his depiction of bridges; his magnificent paintings are exclusively featured in the book New York’s Golden Age of Bridges. Masi is also president of the American Watercolor Society. His artistry has been featured in Artist’s Magazine, PBS–Sunday Arts, NBC-Today, Newsday, and many other venues. He also participated in The New York Times’s video City Living: A Tale of Two Bridges. A sought-after artistic master and scholar, he travels the world as a teacher, demonstrator, and lecturer. JOAN MARANS DIM is a historian, novelist, and essayist. Her published work includes the novel Recollections of a Rotten Kid. She also co-authored two histories—the saga of New York University, Miracle on Washington Square, and, most recently, New York’s Golden Age of Bridges. Her essays and op-eds have appeared in The New York Times, The Daily News, Barron’s, Investor’s Business Daily, The Huffington Post, and many other publications. She also participated in The New York Times’s video City Living: A Tale of Two Bridges. Critics, citing the scope and depth of her work, describe her prose as laced with impressive depth, a droll wit, and an elegant narrative.
New York | fordhampress.com
September 2019 104 pages, 8½ x 11, 34 color illustrations 978-0-8232-8533-4, cloth, $29.95 New York Masterpieces, Revealed Empire State Editions HISTORY | ART | URBAN STUDIES
Media contact: Kate O’Brien-Nicholson Fordham University Press bkaobrien@fordham.edu 646-868-4204 @Kateonich