Visitors can learn about the iconic monument's history before it reaches New York. The idea for the statue came in 1865, when French jurist Édouard Laboulaye proposed to sculptor Auguste Bartholdi that a monument be built to honor France-US friendship and celebrate the 100th anniversary of America's Independence in 1876. Bartholdi's design stood 46 meters tall.
Juliette Chevée, Director and Curator at the Museum of Bartholdi, Colmar, said: "The point of this exhibition is to come back on the origin of the Statue of Liberty, the whole adventure it has been. It was a not only an artistic adventure but also a human experience, economic adventure, financial, and political as well. It highlights the work of Auguste Bartholdi, its creator, who has been overshadowed over the centuries."
Visitors can watch how the copper statue was put together at the Gaget-Gautier workshop in Paris, using traditional copper repoussé techniques over wooden molds, before being assembled.
The entire structure was then dismantled, packed and transported to the US, where it was reassembled at the New York Harbor. It was then inaugurated on October 28, 1886.
