Was the Statue of Liberty originally black?

Social media users are circulating posts which claim that New York's Statue of Liberty was originally modeled after an enslaved Black woman. This primary claim is false. The original model of the statue was inspired by the figure of a female Arab peasant, enlarged to colossal proportions.



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But did you know she wasn't always that color? When France gifted Lady Liberty to the U.S., she was a 305-foot statue with reddish-brown copper skin. Her color change is thanks to about 30 years' worth of chemistry in the air of New York City harbor.

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Designed and sculpted by French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, France donated this colossal statue to the United States in 1875 to commemorate their alliance during the American Revolution.

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The first sketch of New York's Statue of Liberty by architect Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was first intended to represent an “Egyptian peasant in Muslim garments.” In his early designs, Bartholdi called the sculpture “Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia.” However, Egyptian officials rejected the statue as too expensive, ...

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The Statue of Liberty is just one of the iconic landmarks in New York City. It's made of copper, which has oxidised naturally to form a green patina coating which actually protects the copper underneath. It took about 20 years for the Statue of Liberty to change from copper coloured to green!

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The Statue of Liberty has stayed this color for over a hundred years because all the exposed copper is now oxidized: she's stable at this point of her life.

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An illustration of the presentation of the Statue to the U.S. Minister Levi Parsons Morton in Paris on July 4, 1881. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French people commemorating the alliance of France and the United States during the American Revolution.

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So who was the Statue of Liberty modeled after? Quite likely, a mixture of all of these: Augusta Charlotte Bartholdi, the Roman goddess Libertas, a peasant, and that extra inspiration in the artist's own mind.

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5 Things You May Not Know About the Statue of Liberty
  • The statue represents a Roman Goddess. ...
  • The crown's spikes represent the oceans and continents. ...
  • Lady Liberty is struck by lightning 600 times every year. ...
  • Gustave Eiffel helped to build it. ...
  • Lady Liberty's face is modelled on the artist's mother.


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Secretary of War Davis considered the liberty cap that Crawford included in his proposal for the dome statue as problematic, however, arguing that the cap's “history renders it inappropriate to a people who were born free and would not be enslaved.” He recommended that “armed Liberty” instead “wear a helmet,” given “ ...

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The copper statue, officially unveiled on October 28, 1886, took four months to assemble and 20 years to transform from its original copper hue into its iconic green through a process called patination. (Fast facts about the Statue of Liberty from National Geographic Kids.)

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With 31 tons of copper and 125 tons of steel, the scrap value of the Statue of Liberty comes in at $227,610, far below two of the most expensive statues in the world. But that's what happens when you use millions worth of gold and bronze.

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That patina shields the statue from the extreme elements of New York Harbor, like high winds, salt water and air pollution. Cleaning the green patina from the Statue of Liberty could do more harm than good, according to National Park Service spokesman Jerry Willis in a statement to AM New York.

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It was originally erected in 1998 as a temporary tribute to Japan's relationship with France, but the statue was so popular she was made a permanent feature in 2000. What's most interesting about the Odaiba Statue of Liberty is that she is not the only one in Japan, she also has sisters in Shimoda and Osaka.

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The Leicester Statue of Liberty is a small replica of the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World) by local stonemason Joseph Morcom installed at the twin Soar River bridges in Leicester, England.

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10 Fun Facts about the Statue of Liberty
  • Her spiky hat is symbolic.
  • She is actually French.
  • The statue served as a lighthouse.
  • Her head isn't on properly!
  • Nobody is allowed in the torch.
  • Lightning doesn't strike twice, does it?
  • She escaped her chains.
  • Why is she green?


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The Eiffel Tower was a gift from the U.S. During the American Revolution, France provided support to the United States. The Statue of Liberty was gifted to commemorate this alliance. However, the Eiffel Tower wasn't a reciprocal gift, even though the two monuments were created in a similar time period.

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The French paid for the statue and its transportation, the Americans for the pedestal and installation. In 1875, Bartholdi completed the torch-bearing arm first and exhibited it at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. He exhibited the head at the World's Fair in Paris in 1878.

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At the turn of the century, it took longer to form the color we see today's New York air, it would take about 10 years to achieve, but at the turn of the century, it was nearly 25 years before the patina was full-blown. And, America loved the blue-green look of the Lady.

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Although painting the Statue of Liberty has been suggested several times over the years, it has not been done. However, the torch, which was originally copper, corroded after a renovation to install windows. In the 1980s, the original torch was cut away and replaced with one coated with gold leaf.

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