Auguste Bartholdi

Biography

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (1834–1904) was a French sculptor and painter, best known for designing Liberty Enlightening the World – the Statue of Liberty – in New York. The statue, a gift from France to the United States, was erected in 1886 on Liberty Island at the entrance to New York harbour; its internal structure was begun by Viollet-le-Duc and completed by Gustave Eiffel. Bartholdi also created the monumental Lion of Belfort, commemorating the city’s resistance during the siege of 1870–71. His rare paintings are usually signed with the pseudonym “Amilcar Hasenfratz”.