The Statue of Liberty: Timeless Art, Political Hot Topic

By Dianne L. Durante

A look at the Statue of Liberty as a timeless work of art and as a political statement by those who conceived it and by their contemporaries in the late 19th century. This is the first essay in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide, published in 2007, expanded with archival illustrations, close-up views of Liberty, more quotes from

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dianne L. Durante
• Release date: Aug 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088276310

Dianne L. Durante

At age five, I won my first writing award: a three-foot-long fire truck with an ear-splitting siren. I've been addicted to writing ever since. Today I'm an independent researcher, freelance writer, and lecturer. The challenge of figuring out how ideas and facts fit together, and then sharing what I know with others, clearly and concisely - that's what makes me leap out of bed in the morning. Janson's *History of Art*, lent to me by a high-school art teacher, was my first clue that art was more than the rock-star posters and garden gnomes that I saw in Catawissa, Pennsylvania, and that history wasn't just a series of names, dates, and statistics. Soon afterwards I read Ayn Rand's fiction and nonfiction works, and discovered that art and history - as well as politics, ethics, science, and all fields of human knowledge - are integrated by philosophy. My approach to studying art is based on Rand's *The Romantic Manifesto*. (See my review of it on Amazon.) As an art historian I'm a passionate amateur, and I write for other passionate amateurs. I love looking at art, and thinking about art, and helping other people have a blast looking at it, too. *Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide* (New York University Press, 2007), which includes 54 sculptures, was described by Sam Roberts in the *New York Times* as "a perfect walking-tour accompaniment to help New Yorkers and visitors find, identify and better appreciate statues famous and obscure" (1/28/2007). Every week I issue four art-related recommendations to my supporters, which have been collected in *Starry Solitudes* (poetry) and *Sunny Sundays* (painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, and more). For more of my works, see https://diannedurantewriter.com/books-essays .

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Text copyright © 2012 Dianne L. Durante. All rights reserved.

Color photos of the Statue of Liberty are also © 2012 Dianne L. Durante. Other photo credits are noted in the captions.

http://diannedurantewriter.com/

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Description

Alook at the Statue of Liberty as a timeless work of art and as a political statement by those who conceived it and by their contemporaries in the late 19 th century. This is the first essay in Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide , published in 2007. It’s expanded here with archival illustrations, close-up views of Liberty , more quotes from sculptor Bartholdi and his contemporaries, out-takes, and tips on photographing outdoor sculptures in New York. Some of this material previously appeared on my former website, www.ForgottenDelights.com .

This version published 8/26/2023.

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