Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was born on August 2, 1834 in Colmar in the French department of Haut-Rhin.  He lived at 30, rue des Marchands in this Alsatian town until the death of his father when he was only two years old.  His mother then decided to move to Paris so that her children could attend school.  From his childhood young Bartholdi showed artistic talent; his future began to take form during visits to the capital’s workshops and monuments.

During school vacations, which the family spent at Colmar, young Bartholdie studied drawing with Mr. Rossbach.

One of his first commissions was a statue of General Rapp, which he created in 1853 for his hometown.

From 1855-1856 at the age of 21, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi traveled around the Middle East with some of his artist friends.

This tour would make a lasting impression upon his artistic and technical journey.

In Nil he discovered a grand civilization, of which only the monuments had stood the test of time.  From these eight months of study, Bartholdi would return with sketches, drawings, photographs, and, above all, the confirmation of his vocation as a sculptor.

In 1857 he won first place in a contest organized by the city of Bordeaux.  Following a disappointment with the city, the fountain he designed would not be built for another 42 years…and in Lyon, in the Place des Terreaux.

In 1865 during a conversation Bartholdi heard about the idea that France should give the United States a present to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of its independence—a gift which Bartholdi would end up creating himself.

From 1867 and 1868, while the Suez Canal was being designed, he built a model of a colossal lighthouse in the style of ancient Egypt.  This project, which was supposed to be placed at the canal’s entrance, was never realized.  However, it would later give birth to the design of the Statue of Liberty.

In 1869 he took a second journey to Egypt.

In 1870 he created a mock-up of a statue of Vercingetorix for the city of Clermont-Ferrand.  This is the first known model of the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World.  In July France enters into war with Prussia.

In May 1871 a treaty gives Alsace and part of Lorraine to Prussia.  Heartbroken by his nation’s loss, Bartholdi stated during a discussion with his friend Edouard de Laboulaye, “I will fight for liberty; I will appeal to the free people for it.  I will try to glorify the republic over there while I wait for the day when I will find it here.”

He therefore decided to leave for the United States with this idea in his head, along with the plan to solidify Franco-American relations.

Upon arriving at the port in New York, Bartholdi saw on the island of Bedloe the place where he would construct his statue which would symbolize his vision of freedom.  During his visit he formed numerous relations as he sold his chef-d’oeuvre.

In 1872 he constructed “The Curse of Alsace” as well as a statue of La Fayette for the French district of New York.

In 1875 he built a fountain for the Philadelphia Exhibition.  This work would later be moved to Washington.  He also created a statue of Champollion.

This was the year of the Committee on the Franco-American Union’s creation and the announcement of the creation of the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World.

In 1876 he exhibited the hand and the torch at the World’s Fair in Philadelphia.  This work would spend five years at Madison Square in New York.  In December he married Jeanne-Emilie Baheux de Puysieux in Newport.

In 1878 the statue’s head was displayed at the World’s Fair in Paris.

In 1880 Bartholdi finished the Lion of Belfort.  Four years later in Paris on the Fourth of July, France officially presented the United States with the Statue of Liberty.

The next year a scale model of the statue was installed on the tip of the Ile des Cygnes in Paris while its big sister embarked on her voyage to the United States.  The New York statue would be inaugurated on October 28, 1886.

Over the following years copies of his work were installed in Hanoi and Bordeaux.

From 1892 to 1895 he finished his sculptures of La Fayette and Washington, now displayed in Paris.  He also created a sculpture of Switzerland rescuing Strasbourg.  1897 would be the year of the monument to Swendi in Colmar.

At the beginning of the twentieth century he created a monument to the navy of the war of 1870-1871.  This sculpture was placed in the Place des Termes in Paris.

At the age of seventy Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi died on October 4, 1904 in Paris of complications from an illness.

Fourteen years later at the end of World War I, Alsace and Lorraine were returned to France.  Bartholdi, the child of France, finally received his freedom.