Meet Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi: The Statue of Liberty’s Sculptor

Did you know the designer of the Statue of Liberty was French? Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi created what is certainly one of the most important statues in American history, not to mention a number of other beautiful pieces of art around the world that you can see. 

The beacon of freedom he sculpted greeted millions of people as their boats pulled into New York Harbor on their way to Ellis Island to emigrate to the United States. 

Though every aspiring NYC visitor is surely familiar with the Statue of Liberty (and maybe even a little bit of her history), perhaps not as many know about Bartholdi himself. Read on to learn more about who he was and his other works — some of which you find here in the States!

Who is Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi?

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was a talented French artist and sculptor. While in school, he studied architecture, painting, and drawing, before turning all his focus on sculpture, which is where his future endeavors would lie. 

He made his Paris Salon debut before he even turned 20, submitting a Good Samaritan-themed sculpture, and his career bloomed from there. He studied and worked with fellow artists over the years and hit bumps in the road — including pitching work that never got commissioned — but one of his ideas would end up being one of the largest (and most famous) sculptures ever to be created in the world.

Bartholdi’s role in creating the Statue of Liberty

After hearing Édouard de Laboulaye’s passionate decree in 1865 that the French should present the United States with a statuesque gift of sorts, Bartholdi took it upon himself to come up with an idea to pitch. 

He did so in 1871, offering up a plan for “Liberty Enlightening the World,” a massive statue of a woman wearing a crown to symbolize light. She was holding a tablet with the United States’ date of independence and had broken shackles at her feet to symbolize freedom.

The Statue of Liberty comes to life

Bartholdi was so moved by Laboulaye’s speech about gifting the United States with a monument from the French that he wanted to take part in the plan. However, after Laboulaye’s passionate words in 1865 and Bartholdi’s initial pitch in 1871 while in the United States, it took several years for the plans to get off the ground while funds were raised. 

He stepped away from the planning of the Statue of Liberty to work on the Lion of Belfort before coming back to it in 1880. He enlisted the help of other experts for various pieces, including Gustave Eiffel for the massive steel frame. 

Bartholdi oversaw the building of his Statue of Liberty, as he felt passionately about his project, and even accompanied the arm and torch as they traveled to the U.S. (They transported the statue in hundreds of pieces, via cargo crates on a ship.) The statue was eventually assembled in full, on a pedestal crafted by Richard Morris Hunt, and dedicated to the U.S. in 1886.

What other structures did Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi build?

Bartholdi is responsible for several notable statues and structures aside from the Statue of Liberty, even if that is his most famous work. Here are some of his works that you can find around the world today.

The Lion of Belfort

His largest statue in France is the Lion of Belfort. 

Built in the 1870s, this statue sits majestically outside the Castle of Belfort and is dedicated to Pierre Philippe Denfert-Rochereau. Known as one of the French leaders during the Franco-Prussian war, Denfert-Rochereau himself was called the Lion of Belfort for being so courageous. The statue in his honor is built of red sandstone.

Monument du Général Rapp

For the Paris 1855 Universal Exposition, Bartholdi crafted the Monument du Général Rapp, a sculpture that was so large, it didn’t actually fit inside the expo building. The statue was of Jean Rapp, a French general in the Napoleonic Wars. 

The statue remained outside for the event, drawing admirers, and when the event was over, it was moved to Bartholdi’s hometown of Colmar. 

Bartholdi Fountain

Found in Bartholdi Park in the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C, the Bartholdi Fountain is made of cast iron and stands 30 feet tall. It was created in the late 1870s for the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and made its way to Washington, DC in 1877.

The base features turtles spouting off water, topped with a pedestal of sea nymphs holding the fountain with triton spilling water out, dotted with lights.

Other statues

Bartholdi was a prolific sculptor, and he created works for all sizes. He has smaller sculptures in various museums. For example, this one is Vercingétorix, a Gallic king, is in a museum, the Musée d’Art Roger-Quilliot, in central France. 

Also in France, he created this striking fountain, called the Fontaine Bartholdi, in Lyon. The horses represent the four rivers of France, and Amphitrite at the center (the goddess of the sea, from Greek mythology) symbolizes France herself.

You’ll see his name carved into stone beneath the Strassburger Denkmal, a monument in Basel, Switzerland, featuring allegorical figures and commemorating the Franco-Prussian War.

There’s also more of Bartholdi’s work in America beyond the Statue of Liberty. There’s even more right here in NYC. 

In Union Square, see “Lafayette Arriving in America,” depicting the French general who aided the American Revolution.

And if you’re visiting Boston, you might notice the sculptures carved into the First Baptist Church there. Believe it or not, those are works of Bartholdi too. It was built in 1872.

Learn more about Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi

But his most famous work, far and away, remains the Statue of Liberty.

Learn all about Lady Liberty on our Statue of Liberty Tour, including how she was designed, how she came to the United States, and everything she’s been through since she arrived. Best of all, you’ll hear it from a tour guide who is a local expert, and it doesn’t get any better than that!