Statue of Liberty National Monument

Historic site in New York Harbor, New York and New Jersey, U.S. Covering 58 ac (23 ha), it includes the Statue of Liberty (on Liberty Island [formerly Bedloe's Island]) and nearby Ellis Island. The colossal statue, Liberty Enlightening the World, was sculpted by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi and dedicated in 1886. This 305-ft (93-m) statue of a woman holding a tablet and upraised torch was given to the U.S. by France and commemorates the friendship of the two countries; a plaque at the pedestal's entrance is inscribed with the sonnet “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus. The Statue of Liberty was declared a national monument in 1924 and a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984; Ellis Island, containing the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, was added to the monument in 1965.

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A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger. Its primary concern is representational.

The definition of a statue is not always clear-cut; sculptures of a person on a horse, called Equestrian statues, are certainly included, and in many cases, such as a Madonna and Child or a Pietà, a sculpture of two people will also be. A small statue, usually small enough to be picked up, is called a statuette or Figurine.

Many statues are built on commission to commemorate a historical event, or the life of an influential person. Many statues are intended as public art, exhibited outdoors or in public buildings for the edification of passers-by, with a larger magnitude than normal words could ever have for the common man.

On rare occasions, statues themselves become historic and inspire their own historic events. In 1986, when the Statue of Liberty marked her one-hundredth anniversary, a three-day centennial celebration in her honor attracted 12 million, said to have been the largest public event in the world as of that date. The guest list was unique. "We invited all the great statues of the world to her birthday party and created giant puppets to represent them," said Jeanne Fleming, director of the event. "Each one arrived accompanied by native music."

There is an urban legend concerning a code for mounted statues, whereby the horse's hooves are supposed to indicate how the rider met his end. One hoof off the floor would indicate the rider died of wounds received in battle, or perhaps was just wounded in battle; two hooves off the floor would indicate the rider was killed in battle. An examination of the equestrian statues in most major European cities shows this is not true. If it ever was true, the practice appears to have died out in the 19th century.

Statues are amongst the wonders of the world, with the Colossus of Rhodes and the Statue of Zeus at Olympia among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the Moai of Easter Island among the wonders of the modern world.

Gallery

See also

• Bronze sculpture
• Bust
• Colossus
• Equestrian sculpture
• Figurine
• History of sculpture
• List of statues
• List of statues by height
• Living statue
• Memorial
• Monument
• Sculpture
• Statues of Gudea, c.2100 BC
• Stone carving
• Stone sculpture
• The Thinker
• Venus of Willendorf

References

External links

• UK Public Monument and Sculpture Association