Statue of Liberty the United States became a free nation "in reality": When the torch was illuminated on the evening of the statue's dedication, it produced only a faint gleam, barely visible from Manhattan. The "World" characterized it as "more like a glowworm than a beacon." Bartholdi suggested gilding the statue to increase its ability to reflect light, but this proved too expensive. The United States Lighthouse Board took over the Statue of Liberty in 1887 and pledged to install equipment to enhance the torch's effect; in spite of its efforts, the statue remained virtually invisible at night. When Bartholdi returned to the
Equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington, Aldershot Matthew Cotes Wyatt. In the statue the Duke is shown on Copenhagen, the famous charger that he had ridden at Waterloo. Much of the bronze in the statue is derived from French cannon captured at Waterloo and remelted in Wyatt's foundry. Wellington himself sat for the sculptor. Copenhagen, however, had died and a substitute horse was used as a model, which offended many at the time who saw a poor likeness to Copenhagen in the statue. The position selected for the sculpture was on top of the triumphal arch at Hyde Park Corner, built in 1827–8 in conjunction with an