Statue of Liberty 1889, there were 38 U.S. states), although this was not done. Above that, a balcony was placed on each side, framed by pillars. Bartholdi placed an observation platform near the top of the pedestal, above which the statue itself rises. According to author Louis Auchincloss, the pedestal "craggily evokes the power of an ancient Europe over which rises the dominating figure of the Statue of Liberty". The committee hired former army General Charles Pomeroy Stone to oversee the construction work. Construction on the foundation began in 1883, and the pedestal's cornerstone was laid in 1884. In Hunt's original conception, the
Charlotte Dubray of this period remained in the family and have been scattered and often forgotten. In the 1890s Charlotte began to experiment with ceramics with the help of partners such as (1857–1940) and (1848–1926). A high relief of "Cérès" was exhibited at the Objets d’Art section of the Salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1892. She made an imposing statue of Saint Francis that won a silver medal at the Exposition Universelle de 1900. An article on the Besnard couple by Frantz Jourdain appeared in "La Vie heureuse" in 1904, with photographs showing this statue. Charlotte Besnard designed an