Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi 1871, not finishing the massive sandstone statue until 1880. In 1871, he made his first trip to the United States, where he pitched the idea of a massive statue gifted from the French to the Americans in honor of the centennial of American independence. The idea, which had first been broached to him in 1865 by his friend Édouard René de Laboulaye, resulted in the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor. After years of work and fundraising, the statue was inaugurated in 1886. During this period, Bartholdi also sculpted a number of monuments for American cities, such as a
Wisconsin (statue) Wisconsin (statue) Wisconsin is a statue on top of the Wisconsin Capitol Building created by Daniel Chester French. The "Wisconsin" statue on the dome was sculpted during 1913-1914 by Daniel Chester French of New York City. His model was Audrey Munson. The statue atop the state capitol building is named "Wisconsin" and was placed on the capitol dome as a symbol of the state's motto, "Forward." Daniel Chester French, who also created the Abraham Lincoln statue for the Lincoln Memorial, sculpted "Wisconsin" to symbolize the spirit of Wisconsin progress. She looks toward Lake Monona with her right hand outstretched, while