Conservation-restoration of the Statue of Liberty Conservation-restoration of the Statue of Liberty A centennial conservation-restoration of the Statue of Liberty ("Liberty Enlightening the World") occurred between 1984 and 1986. The Statue of Liberty, by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, is a colossal artwork on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, and is a part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Much of the restoration effort was based on unprecedented restorative methods, as metallurgical repair work on such a large scale had never been attempted. Many scientists, engineers, government organizations, and professional consultants evaluated and dealt with the various problems and tasks facing the restoration effort.
Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi of building some suitable memorial to show the fraternal feeling existing between the republics of the United States and France was suggested, and in 1874 the Union Franco-Americaine (Franco-American Union) was established by Edouard de Laboulaye. Bartholdi's hometown in Alsace had just passed into German control in the Franco-Prussian War. These troubles in his ancestral home of Alsace are purported to have further influenced Bartholdi's own great interest in independence, liberty, and self-determination. Bartholdi subsequently joined this group, among whose members were Laboulaye, Paul de Rémusat, William Waddington, Henri Martin, Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps, Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de