THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE STATUE OF LIBERTY
The Statue Of Liberty has towered above Bedlow Island, near the entrance to New York Harbor, as a symbol of freedom. The famous sculptor, Bartholdi, gave twenty years of devoted effort to the work, personally superintending the raising of the subscription of $4,000,000 with which the French nation gave the statue to the United States. When the subscriptions lagged, Bartholdi pledged his own private fortune to defray the running expenses and practically impoverished himself over the work. At the start, when Bartholdi looked for a model whose form and features he could reproduce as "Liberty," he received much contradictory counsel. One of the leading art authorities advised him that the statue should depict "figures of thought which are grand in themselves." After examining outstanding heroes, Bartholdi chose as a model for the colossal masterpiece--his own mother
(Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc. From a sermon by Matthew Kratz, A Faithful Mother, 5/6/2011)